101 Ways That Lightning Strikes
by SokoNinjaz
Summary: First FanFic. Starts on that Halloween night that we are all familiar with. Elemental!Harry, Super!Harry, Grey!Harry, KickButt!Harry, Manipulative!Dumbles, WBWL, Neville grew up as BWL. Picks up during 5th year. Pairings? Harry/Susan. Rating for Language and Violence.
1. Chapter 1: An Old Occurrence

Chapter 1: An Old Occurrence

October 31, 1981

On an abnormally cold night, with stars twinkling in the sky like diamonds and adults drinking merrily to forget their troubles, two baby boys lay in an azure colored room.

One boy, Harold James Potter, playfully reached out to try and grab the rotating brooms and snitches that adorned the top of his crib.

The other, a Neville Longbottom, slept soundly in his crib, dreaming of a world filled with candy and chocolate.

Both boys' parents were downstairs, talking about the war that was currently controlling their lives. None of the parents noticed the menacing figure that glided across the road, making no noise and catching the eye of no one. To call this thing human would do the species an injustice. It was tall and lean, but had pale skin and crimson eyes that radiated power and darkness. With a black cloak and bony fingers, it could easily be confused for a dementor.

Slowly, the figure opened the wrought iron gate, silencing it with a flick of his wand. While the unsuspecting parents continued their discussion, Harold stopped playing with his toys and looked out the window, sensing the sinister aura that the figure gave off.

Suddenly, and without warning, the front door exploded inward, shattering it to pieces and spreading debris across the room. Four heads turned, wands pointing in the darkness, as the figure gave out a manic cackle.

"Hello you muggle-loving filth, it's time to face the punishment of going against the Dark Lord," the hooded figure chided.

As Lily Potter screamed and stepped forward with a curse on her lips, her husband held her back and exclaimed, "Lily! Take Harry and Neville and run!"

Alice's and Frank's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden turn of events, and ferociously began to duel with the figure, now known as Voldemort. Lily ran up the stairs, hoping beyond hope that her husband and friends could hold off the Dark Lord until she got the children safe.

She immediately rushed into the boys' room and closed the door, locking it with the strongest spell that she knew. Unfortunately, where there were once shouts accompanied with spells flying and pieces of furniture exploding, silence reigned. The creaking of steps on the wooden floorboards cut through the silence like a knife through butter. While Lily stood protectively around both boys, the door that she foolishly thought could hold off the Dark Lord opened with a loud snap, sending it flying off its hinges.

"Stand aside foolish girl! I have only come for the children," roared Voldemort.

"No! I won't let you take my baby away from me," Lily screeched.

Laughter that of which was completely foreign to what normally filled the house rung through her ears. "Do you seriously believe that you, a mere mudblood barely out of school, could defeat me, the most powerful Dark Lord in history?" Voldemort boasted.

Lily flinched at his words, trying desperately to think of a way to keep the children safe. When it came to her, she gave the Dark Lord a grim smile. No, she thought, but I can certainly try. As she raised her wand in defense of her young, four words left her mouth. Four words that would drastically change the course of history. "Protego fillium meum amore," she recited.

A blinding white light surrounded Harry, as the Dark Lord exclaimed, "Avada Kedavra!" sending a sickly green curse towards his mother.

Her last thoughts that echoed in her mind before she entered the dark abyss were, Please forgive me Alice, I did what I thought was right.

By this point, Neville began to loudly cry to a room empty of adults who love him, wanting in vain for someone to hold him and bring him from this nightmare. Harold on the other hand, sat silently, watching with tears in his eyes as his mother was struck down before him. Eyes brisling with defiance, he turned towards his mother's killer, showing how much contempt he held for this thing.

Voldemort walked slowly towards the boy, wand raised at his forehead. Emerald eyes met crimson, as the Dark Lord whispered his final curse for the night, "Avada Kedavra."

The spell rebounded immediately, sending it careening towards its caster. Crimson eyes widened in shock before an unearthly scream tore through the house. The impact created a shockwave that caused even the foundation to crack, and sent pieces of plaster and wood towards the other boy.

A large X cut Neville's left cheek as a perfect lightning bolt was carved into Harold's forehead, right above his left eye. Silence came as quickly as it had left.

Eventually, Neville began to cry again, as Harold was knocked out from magical exhaustion.

Out in the street, a man suddenly appeared without so much as a pop as he began to run towards the house. He was of average build, standing at a short 5'7" with floating runes across his rugged face and electric blue eyes searching for any signs of life. As he ascended the stairs, two at a time, he hoped that at least someone had survived.

Making his way into the crumbling room, he immediately noticed Neville's cry for attention. Striding over to the boy, he stopped and looked at the other crib. Heart clenching with the thought of the other boy being dead, he instead hurried to him and checked his pulse.

Finding one, he then noticed the scar lining above his left eye. This is definitely not good, he thought. Carefully picking up the boy, Harold was his name as he checked the charm bracelet around his wrist; he heard voices in the distance, coming closer to the house.

Quickly, without so much as a word, he swished his wand at the crib and created a duplicate body of the baby. This duplicate looked as though it was in a deep sleep, but was truly made to look as if the boy was dead. Hearing the voices coming closer, he vanished without a pop with the now slumbering Harold, wondering if he was doing the right thing.


	2. Chapter 2: A new Beginning

Chapter 2: A New Beginning

October 31, 1988

Rain pounded on a large glass stained window of a manor in the hills of northern Scotland. The manor was set in an old Gothic style, dating back to the late medieval period. It even has the gargoyles that it's style was so famous for. Entering through the large ebony double doors, one could see two figures standing in a grand foyer.

"Darius," a young voice from a short and scrawny looking boy growled, "I am going to kill you!"

Said boy was currently brandishing a wand too big for his hands, pointed at a man that was about a foot or so taller than himself. Trying to look as menacing as any eight year old could, the boy sent off a mixture of curses and hexes from the unfamiliar wand, searching for a way around the more powerful and experienced man's defenses, while also supporting a dislocated shoulder.

Said man was currently diving and weaving through the spells, expertly avoiding them without the slightest hint of fatigue.

"Is that so? Because at this rate you won't even be able to hit me, much less kill me. I know that you're using my wand, but seriously, put some effort into it," the tall man drawled.

A moment of rage surged through the boy's eyes before he calmed himself and steeled his gaze towards his adversary.

"That's it! Use that anger and hate and put it to something positive. There has to be a balance to everything. You must become that balance," encouraged Darius.

 _Where there is Love, there must be Hate._

 _Where there is Happiness, there must be Sorrow._

 _Where there is Light, there must be Darkness._

 _And where there is Life, there must be Death._

Four truths that were constantly drilled into his head since before he could remember. Eight ideas that always revolved around humanity. One simple fact: there must be a balance.

As the boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the room began to radiate power. Both sides of magic, Light and Dark, rushed forward to be absorbed, wanting desperately to be unleashed. Wind roared and the earth began to shake as a vortex of power began to be channeled by the boy. And as quickly as it happened, it disappeared, creating a moment of silence that seemed to creep on for eternity.

Suddenly, the boy opened his emerald eyes which flashed with power and gave a primal howl, before he stuck his arms out and a large BOOM sounded as a surge of black and white lightning rocketed out of his hands and went straight towards his mentor.

Eyes widening in shock, the man faded out of existence, only to reappear a few feet away, and turned to look at the destructive force of the lightning as it collided with the wall, leaving a black mark as big as a small car.

"Excellent," the man whispered.

August 12, 1990

In a wolf grey room, an average sized boy with raven black hair and piercing emerald eyes that had the faintest traces of silver was slowly twirling a silver bladed katana around his head. While this might not be strange for some people, the fact that he was doing it without his hands, would be the deciding factor for this to be considered abnormal.

A loud and clear voice echoed through the hall, simply saying, "Begin."

The boy instantly grabbed the hilt of the katana, and began to stretch out his magical senses to the max. Suddenly, he swung the blade to the right as a training dummy, looking like the knights of old, appeared out of thin air and tried to take off his arm. Successfully parrying the attack, he turned on his heel and appeared behind the dummy with a loud crack. He stabbed with his blade into the enemy's "heart," piercing it's armor and striking true.

Harold let himself a moment of victory before he felt another presence and rolled to dodge an attack from his left. While staying on the balls of his feet, he scanned the enemy for weaknesses. The enemy, which he now saw to be a spider as big as a dog, was brought down with his superior speed and skill in a single slash. _An Acromantula… really? Way too easy._ Unfortunately, while focusing on the fact that his mentor gave him such an easy opponent, he barely noticed the large double edged sword that was quickly going to decapitate him.

Sensing it at the last second, he rolled to the right to avoid the worst. Unfortunately, while the worst was decapitation, he did not come out completely unscathed. He winced in pain as the looked down and saw a large cut extending from his elbow to his wrist which broke through his dragon hide under armor and drew his crimson blood. _He's really not pulling his punches, is he?_

"What the hell was that?! I taught you how to focus, not stand around and gloat about how great you are!" Darius scolded.

"You're right, I'm sorry," Harold sighed.

"Damn right I'm right! Now get up and fight, _little boy_."

Harold's eyes narrowed at the insult, and quickly drew upon the forces of Light and Darkness to charge his katana with black and white lightning, making it seem as though nothing had changed except for a faint humming sound. Using both hands to hold his prized possession, he brought his katana up and faced his opponent and mentor with determination shining in his emerald and slightly silver eyes.

"You are not going to win this time old man."

"Old man? Please. I'm just your average 28 year old."

Harold scoffed with disbelief and charged. Moving faster than most adults could, both the boy's katana and the man's sword clashed, creating sparks that flared out at the point of impact. Emerald eyes flashed with power, creating more speckles of silver in them, as the boy's katana slowly cut through the man's sword, creating a grinding noise that sounded almost like a chainsaw. Seeing this, Darius disengaged and tried to swing his foot low to the ground in an attempt to trip Harold.

Instead of tripping however, Harold used his powers to create a barrier charged with lightning around his feet, blocking the blow and sending Darius' foot sailing away in the opposite direction. With his enemy disorientated, Harold slashed down, cutting through Darius' arm cleanly and decapitating him.

"Yes! Finally!" Harold exclaimed, jumping up in the air and giving a large whoop.

A fist suddenly appeared in his vision and struck him in the head, sending him flying and hitting the back wall.

"What the hell did I just say?! You have to have CONSTANT VIGILANCE," a voice boomed.

Slowly the dummy Darius dissolved into nothingness as the real Darius stepped out of a portal of darkness. His face was a mask of annoyance, but his eyes held a nothing but concern for his apprentice.

Harold slowly got up on his feet, wincing in pain as his jaw felt sore, but looking down sheepishly as he had forgotten another important rule.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Damn right you're sorry! Why is it every time..."

Harold's face began to darken with shame, _I've failed him yet again,_ he thought _._

Darius sighed. "Just don't pull this crap again," he halfheartedly lectured.

Harold's gaze drifted towards his mentor and with a look of determination and hope for the future promised,

"It won't happen again."

June 1995

"Do I have to?" a raven haired teen asked.

"Of course you do. Stop whining like a baby. I thought that I taught you better than that," scolded a man who looked to be 28 years old.

"But this is ridiculous! Why can't I stay with you? I don't want to be surrounded by hormonal teenaged boys and idiotic girls that can't tell their wand from their arse!" the teenager whined.

"Last time I checked, you were one of those hormonal teenaged boys, or is there something that you're not telling me?" the man inquired.

Harold's face began to turn a light shade of red before disappearing to its normal tanned color. "Come on! I wanna stay with you! Not go to some stupid school where I know everything that they could teach me anyways. You know that they will get suspicious if they see some prodigy come from nowhere."

Darius sighed. _I knew that this wasn't going to be easy_ , he thought.

"Alright kid listen up. You're going to that school for two reasons and two reasons only. Your primary goal is to destroy the Horcrux that's in the castle. We've already destroyed the one in your head, the cup and the ring..."

Harold rolled his eyes. _I already know this_ , he thought.

"...-ay? Next, you need to gain Dumbledore's trust. Without it, we will be running around blind for the rest of them. Lord knows how many the fool created, and we need whatever information he and his Order have so that we can destroy them. Lastly-"

"Wait. You just said two. I mean I know you're getting old but Jesus man, you should still know how to count," Harold joked.

"Yes well, this last one is my own personal request... I want you to make some friends."

The silence that followed was deafening.

"What?" Harold whispered.

"You need friends," Darius deadpanned.

Harold's gaze drifted to Darius in a look of disbelief.

"You're joking right?"

Darius looked straight into Harold's eyes and conveyed his seriousness on the subject.

Harold sighed and resigned his opposition to the idea. _He is right. Like he is almost all of the time. I just wish that it didn't have to be this way,_ he thought.

Seeing that he had won the argument, Darius grinned and grabbed the morning newspaper.

The _Daily Prophet_ wasn't exactly the most _reliable_ newspaper, but it was always good for a nice laugh. However, this edition was different, with the headline causing Darius' grin to turn into marred frown.

 _ **DEATH AT TRI-WIZARD TOURNAMENT!**_

 _ **BOY-WHO-LIVED, MURDERER OR INSANE?**_

 _Cedric Diggory, 7th year Hufflepuff, was found dead after the completion of the Third Task in the infamous Tri-Wizard tournament. His body was recovered after the Boy-Who-Lived, Neville Longbottom, returned with the Tri-Wizard Cup in hand. Longbottom says that Diggory and him were transported to a graveyard to witness He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's return. Clearly, this is either the psychotic ramblings of a madman, or the lies of a murderer. Only time will tell which is true…_

 _More on Tri-Wizard Tournament… (Pg 8)_

 _More on Neville Longbottom… (Pg 9)_

 _Oh this is not good_ , Darius thought, it is much too soon for his return. As his gaze shifted to a picture of Neville and Cedric's boy, he sighed. _Poor boy. He will have no one to look after him with his best interests at heart._

Harold watched his mentor's emotions and had read the article at the same time as Darius. As he walked away from him, his thoughts began to travel at a thousand miles per second. Finally, with a meaningful look, he turned towards Darius and questioned, "So it's finally time?"

"I suppose it is."

 **Author's Note:**

 **So I finally learned how to do an author's note. I really have to get used to this. This is kind of the first story that I have ever written before. Well, that's not true, but it is the first that I have published.**

 **In this chapter, I wanted to show how Harold is progressing, as well as his relationship with Darius. If some of you are concerned that he listens to him too much, you have to understand. He isn't stupid. And he is sensible enough to see how Darius is right. He also isn't a whining brat, and I hope that you all don't think he is. I just wanted to show how much Harold wants to stay with Darius.**

 **If you find any mistakes, could you point them out? This is not beta-ed? Betad? Ehh whatever. I don't have anyone to look over my stuff.**

 **Lastly, if any of you saw the hint of Harold's Animagus, because I really like the ability and I wanted him to have it, kudos to you.**

 **Next chapter: Off to See the Wizard!**


	3. Chapter 3: Off to See the Wizard!

Chapter 3: Off to See the Wizard!

July 1995

Somewhere in northern Scotland, there stood a grand castle near a loch. This castle, known as Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, was a rather peculiar one, and was run by a rather peculiar Headmaster. This Headmaster is known to the world as Albus Dumbledore, defeater of the Dark Wizard Grindelwald, and is thought to be of the greatest light wizards in history. That is far from the truth. What is unknown to almost everyone is how this "wise old grandfather" is really a power hungry megalomaniac.

Currently, Dumbledore was pacing his office, trying to figure out a way to get out of this current predicament.

 _That damn Dark Lord,_ he thought _, he came back too soon. If he had just waited a few more years… No. No use dwelling on it now. I'll have to continue to prepare the boy for his coming doom and hope that my plans will produce the best results._

Satisfied with this conclusion, he stopped pacing and reached out to stroke his phoenix familiar, Fawkes. Fawkes gave Dumbledore a look that clearly meant, _Are you really going to go through with this?_

"I have to my old friend. It is for the Greater Good after all."

Fawkes rolled his beady black eyes, but did not bring up the subject any further.

What most people assume about phoenixes is that they attach themselves to people who are inherently good and filled with light. This is actually a lie. While the sun, which is what the phoenix represents, may be a source of light, it can also be harsh and ruthless. The only thing that the sun cares about is its own power, and making sure that it gets recognition and worshiped for them. So, a phoenix is truly fitting for a megalomaniac. But Albus Dumbledore won't let anyone else know this fact.

 _This next school year is going to be critical_ _for the young Longbottom 's development. I have to make sure that I get this right…_

Elsewhere

Two figures were clashing in an epic battle of wills.

The shorter, a young man of 14 was staring defiantly at the other man who looked to be 28.

"No," the younger of the two denied.

"Come on! It'd be great!" the older one pleaded.

"No."

"Bu-"

"No Darius! I do not want a damn birthday party!"

Darius sighed in exasperation. _Why is he always so difficult nowadays? He was never this much trouble when he was younger. What I wouldn't give to go back to the good old days,_ he reminisced wistfully.

While Darius took a trip down memory lane, Harold began to walk off and practice one of his familiar katas with his precious katana _Higure Senkusha,_ or more simply put, the Pathfinder of Twilight.

The curved, single-edged blade was made of pure magical silver, and was created to be unbreakable. It had a simple black square guard. The hilt was a standard one, with black and white sashes made of Japanese silk to adorn it. Going further down the blade, one would notice the long green sash made of Acromantula silk which extended off of the end of the hilt, allowing the wielder to wrap the sash around their hands. This sash would automatically attach itself to the wielder as soon as he or she picked it up. What made this blade truly special however was that it was only attuned to Harold, and could summon it from a pocket in space with a flick of his wrist. It was a complex bit of magic, but it made it all the easier to use, as he would not need to carry it around or draw it from a sheath. It truly was one of a kind, and it only belonged to Harold.

As Harold prepared to get into more advanced katas, Darius decided that he would see if Harold was truly up for the task of defending himself at Hogwarts. After all, the supposed "Safest Place in Britain" was invaded by Voldemort or his followers for the past 4 years.

Appearing behind him without so much as a pop, Darius summoned his blade, the _Way to the Dawn,_ and slashed downwards, threatening to split Harold in half. Harold, sensing his mentor's whereabouts before he even thought of his plan, gave a sly grin and created an illusion of himself, while he silently crept in the darkness. As soon as Darius swung, he saw his chance and appeared behind him, holding his katana at the small point of his back.

"Is that _Higure,_ or are you just happy to actually get the drop on me for once?" Darius joked.

"Ohh, maybe a little bit of both?" Harold giddily replied.

Turning to face his student/pseudo-son, Darius grinned and sent his sword back to the pocket in space that he kept it in.

"I am quite proud of you, you know that?"

"I know. And I am glad that you push me so much. I'm pretty good because of it, aren't I?" Harold cheekily boasted with a wink.

"Of course you are," Darius deadpanned, "Now why don't we put those amazing skills of yours to the ultimate test?"

Both grinned as they prepared for what was to be one of the fiercest battles that they have ever had.

And a fierce battle it was. With each strike and blow, both tried to convey how much they cared for the other. During the battle, both seemed to have the upper hand, only to lose it again when the other adapted to the situation. At the end, both sat down, panting while sweating profusely.

"Fine," Darius spoke tiredly.

"What?" Harry inquired.

"I won't force you to have a party. I know that you don't care much for celebrations anyway."

Silence was met with Darius' words as Harold mulled over his reasoning in a way that Darius would understand.

"It's not that I don't like celebrations. I just don't want this to seem like it's more of a goodbye than it has to be. I will be coming back, and when I do, we can celebrate then. Deal?"

Darius perked up at this news, and hastily agreed. _It's not going to be easy with him gone,_ he thought, _but this is necessary. I have trained him on how to fight. Now he needs to know what to fight for._

September 1, 1995

As soon as two figures landed at King's Cross Station, Platform 9 ¾, noise immediately assaulted their ears.

The younger of the two, looked to be a mix of the older man accompanying him, and another man. He had raven black hair and a thin and slightly tanned face, with emerald green eyes that now had strands of silver on the outside of the pupil. Earlier in his life, he had a scar over his left eye, but this had been slowly healing after he had "taken care of it," and was finally nothing more than a memory. His face was not drop dead gorgeous, but most would see him as a handsome young man.

The older looked to be in his late twenties, also with black hair, but his had more of a blueish tint to it. His face was absent of the floating runes that would sometimes accompany it in times of great distress or anger. If one peered into his light blue eyes, they would swear that they had an almost electric look to them. He had a rugged face with the shadow of a beard and supported a small cut on the left side of his chin from a "training accident." He and the boy had enough resemblance to be confused as father and son, otherwise needless and annoying questions would arise from their constant spending time together.

The pair walked towards the scarlet train that proudly proclaimed in gold letters: _HOGWARTS EXPRESS,_ passing by many tear-filled families who hugged their children goodbye for a few months.

After they wordlessly added the younger man's luggage to a carriage in the back of the train, they stepped out to look at an odd seen. The crowd had parted to admit a chubby looking young man with an anguished expression on his face. The boy was surrounded by a redheaded family of four children and two adults with another girl that had slightly bushy brown hair. The group was getting nasty looks from many in the crowd, and at one point someone yelled 'LYING ATTENTION SEEKER!' at the young man. Ducking his head in anger, the group quickly said their goodbyes and hurried the children onto the train.

"Well isn't that interesting," Darius pondered, "I take it that most of these people believe the filth that the _Prophet_ and the ministry are spreading. I guess it couldn't be avoided. These people are mindless sheep."

"I honestly expected nothing different," Harold explained, "He will be their hero one day, the Boy-Who-Lived, and then a psychotic lunatic the next. It is pitiful really."

The pair turned towards one another, with an unspoken conversation running between them. As the whistle blew for the children to finally get ready and board, Harold sighed and hugged his mentor, much to his shock.

"I know that you are not my father. But I wouldn't and couldn't wish for a better one," Harold whispered.

Darius looked down in disbelief, but eventually accepted the statement nonetheless.

"Thank you." They both said.

A smile passed between the two of them as Harold boarded the _Express_. He looked back at Darius and with a single wave, headed towards his compartment.

Harold sat down and decided to write in his journal to pass the time. It was spelled so that only he could read it, and if someone tried to break the spell, the book exploded, transferring the contents to another copy that he always kept on him. Call him paranoid, but his thoughts were his, and nobody could read what he wrote.

The ride was relatively uneventful, with a couple people giving him looks, wondering what he was doing there, before shrugging and leaving him alone.

Suddenly however, the compartment door opened to a crying girl. She wore a red and gold tie with her black robes and slumped into the seat across from Harold. Looking carefully, he noticed that it was the same bushy haired girl that he saw with Longbottom on the platform. While he wondered what to do, the girl finally began to notice that someone else was in the compartment.

"Oh.. I'm sorry. I'll just *sob* go," she cried.

"No it's okay. I wasn't doing anything important. Is something wrong?" Harold asked.

The girl gave Harold a watery smile, looking as though she might cheer up a bit at his concern for her, but then remembered why she was in there in the first place and began to cry again.

Thinking that it was his doing, he began to panic and hurried to the girl's side, awkwardly patting her back as she let out all of her emotions through her tears.

Finally, after what felt like ages, but was only really 10 minutes, she stopped crying and looked back at Harold.

"Thanks," she muttered.

She then began to give him a quizzical look, and asked, "Who are you? I've never seen you before."

"Me? Oh I'm just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man," Harold joked.

The girl began to laugh and wiped her left-over tears away with her sleeve.

"You like muggle comics? Funny. You _must_ be a muggleborn like me. My name is Hermione Granger. And although you helped me, I don't think that your name is Peter Parker."

Harold laughed and explained, "Spider-Man is my favorite Muggle superhero. My name is Harold."

"Harold, hm? Well thanks. I'm sure I must look dreadful right about now."

"Dreadful? Oh heavens no. I would say distraught, yes. But a girl like you can only continue looking as beautiful as Aphrodite herself," Harold confessed without thinking.

Hermione flushed with embarrassment, wondering where such a guy had been all of her life.

"So what was the issue? Why was my Mary Jane crying?" Harold inquired.

The smile that had been on Hermione's face had disappeared, replacing it with a frown.

"It's my friends," she sighed, "There's this guy that I like, but he won't even give me the time of day. I thought that he liked me last year, but it seems as though I was only fooling myself. I don't know why I hang out with him. He's rude and only uses me for homework. But he is also one of the only friends that I've got, you know? It's hard to leave that behind."

Harold sat in silence as he thought about Hermione's situation, trying desperately to understand, but not finding that he had it in his capacity to do so.

As the silence stretched on, the door opened again to reveal a young man with platinum blonde hair and a smug smile on his face when he saw who was in the room. He was accompanied by two gorillas that vaguely looked like young men who tried cracking their fists in a menacing way, looking as if they expected a fight.

"Well, well, well, looks like the mudblood's gone and found herself a new friend. What's wrong, the psycho blood traitor not good enough for you?" the young blonde sneered.

Hermione turned to the boy, a look of hatred on her face as she drew her wand at the aggressor, and began a spell that would certainly cause a lot of damage to the ignorant pureblood's "family jewels," when a hand suddenly appeared in front of her face.

"Now, now young man. Language like that will not be tolerated in my presence. Apologize now, and I might let you off easy," Harold scolded harshly.

The young man turned to Harold with a look of disgust.

"And who do you think you are? Probably some worthless mudblood like her. I bet you can't even tell your wand from your ar-"

Anything the boy was about to say was cut off with a startled yelp as a sword as long as Harold himself appeared in front of the group, with its point right in front of his trachea, drawing a trickle of blood as it barely pierced the skin.

"Say that shit in front of me again, and I swear, you will not live another second," Harold whispered coldly as his emerald eyes faintly crackled with electricity and glowed a slight silver.

Saying that the tension in the room was heavy would be like saying that the ocean is wet; it would be a massive understatement.

Harold gave the extremely frightened boy and his group a wave, and taking it as their cue to leave; they rushed out of the compartment like bats out of hell. Harold closed the door with a wave of his hand, and locked it without a single word. He then turned towards Hermione and absently flicked his wrist, sending _Higure_ back to the other world.

Hermione looked at Harold with a great deal of appreciation, and a slight trace of fear.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"No thanks necessary. That guy is a total prat," Harold reassured.

Hermione gave Harold a genuine smile as they continued their journey to a magical castle, talking about everything and nothing at the same time.

Later that evening

Harold stepped off of the boat that he used to traverse the loch, and looked up at the magnificent castle before him. _Dumbledore's a right pain in the arse, but this view makes it all worth it,_ he thought.

As he was being led to the castle, he looked towards all of the scared first years that surrounded him, whispering about how they would possibly be sorted. Harold realized that he had no idea what the sorting process was, as Darius had never covered it. His face was set in its usual calm manner, but his eyes widened in fright at the unknown.

Slowly, he calmed himself down, and decided that whatever it was, he couldn't back out now. _'Adapt or die.' Or something like that._

When he finally reached the large double doors that adorned the front entrance of the castle, he noticed the stern looking witch that stood at the top of stone steps, waiting for the group patiently. Harold snorted in disbelief, _Well, at least he got something right, McGonagall definitely looks like she has a stick up her arse._

Harold zoned out of the usual introduction, wanting to instead just eat and go to his room so that he could prepare it for the coming year. He absently got into the back of the two lines, walking while studying the castle around him. _It seems as though this place is as beautiful as it is on the inside as it is on the out._

"You are beautiful my dear," Harold whispered appreciatively to the castle.

The first year in front of him gave him a weird look before turning around, but Harold did not pay attention to it as he felt warmth inside of him that radiated kindness, almost like a loving mother who had hugged him in a show of appreciation for his comment. In that moment, he realized that the caste was alive in a way, and why shouldn't it be? It has been soaked in magic for about a thousand or so years.

As he thought about this recent development, he barely noticed the sorting process until he heard the kid before him, a boy named Daniel Boone, being called out. He watched as he ran up to a decrepit looking hat on a wooden stool. When was put on his head and shouted "HUFFLEPUFF!" he wondered how this worked as well.

 _Does it read my mind? Will it spill my secrets? No, that would be idiotic. Riddle would have been found out if that was the case,_ he thought.

A loud "Harold!" was called out, signifying that it was his turn to put on the hat.

 _I bet they are wondering why I did not register a last name,_ he mused, _I bet that they would not believe me if I said that I didn't have one._ He chuckled and then sat down on the stool.

As soon as the hat was placed on his head, he heard a voice that felt old with knowledge and yet young with energy say, _"My, my, aren't you an interesting one?"_

" _Hello. I'd like to skip the formalities and just skip to the actual sorting process. Which house do you think that I would be best placed, Mr. Sorting Hat sir?"_

" _Well, all of them I'd wager. You seem to have all of the good qualities of the houses, and little to none of the bad._

" _Your bravery is astounding, but does not cloud your judgement. You strive for knowledge, but are not the type to sit in the library all day and do nothing to actually help others. You can be extremely cunning when you want to, although when you act like you're not, it only further adds to you image. And you have a fierce loyalty to those you trust, but not overly so to where it blinds you from the truth._

" _All in all, I'd say any of the houses would be lucky to have you."_

" _Why thank you sir. If I may ask, could I have the honor of choosing myself then?"_

" _Of course you may my boy! I daresay it shall be an interesting year wherever you are placed."_

" _Alright then, I choose…"_

 **Author's Note:**

 **So another chappie down. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my work. If some of you noticed the Kingdom Hearts influences, kudos. The name Way to Dawn is not mine, but the sword itself is, as it is different in all but name to the one in KH.**

 **Back to the point, I wanted to show more of Harold's character in this chapter, as well as more on his relationship with Darius and how he would react in certain situations, as he hasn't had any contact with kids his age. I think that I made it realistic.**

 **Also. I am not Japanese. So if anyone can find a better name in Japanese for Pathfinder or Explorer of Twilight, that would be duly appreciated.**

 **Anyways, this chapter gives more hints of what's to come, so read and review if you want more. Thanks again everyone!**


	4. Chapter 4: Wait What?

Chapter 4: Wait… What?!

Thursday, September 1, 1995

" _Alright then, I choose…"_ Harold thought.

 _"Oh you are a rather funny one aren't you? Not in all of my years has someone requested THAT."_

 _"Well I think it would be best."_

 _"Haha I'm sure it will be lad. You'll definitely make this year interesting. I shall grant you this request on one condition, I want you to drop on by the Headmaster's office every once in a while and visit me, alright?"_

 _"Sure. Although it might take me some time to gain Dumbledore's trust."_

 _"Well just make it as soon as you can. Have a great year Harold."_

"HOGWARTS!" the hat shouted.

The entire hall fell silent in confusion at this sudden turn of events.

"Wait… What?!" a random 6th year Hufflepuff exclaimed.

Harold turned to the head table and calmly asked, "So… where do I sit?"

Everyone at the staff table had different expressions on their faces that ranged from confused to angry. Suddenly, every one of them turned to Dumbledore, waiting to see what he would say.

The Headmaster stroked his beard in thought with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Well, I suppose that you could sit wherever you want for now. And of course, you'd have to have your own quarters, as you are technically not a part of any hou-"

"Hem hem," a fat woman in pink who looked suspiciously like a toad, interrupted.

 _Oh shit… Did she just..? I might just like her._ Harold thought giddily.

The staff looked at the woman in disbelief as she had interrupted Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards in the world.

"I do not think that it is appropriate to award misbehavior with privileges. Obviously, this student has bewitched the hat so that he might hope to receive the very same special treatment that you were about to give him. We should have a full investigation at once in order to get to the bottom of this," she demanded with a sickly sweet smile on her face.

 _Never mind. This toad is going down._

"I hardly think that all of that would be necessary mad 'am. I am fully prepared to take a Wizard's Oath in front of the whole hall in order to prove my innocence of your allegations," Harold stated, just as sickly sweet.

 _Two can play this game bitch,_ Harold retorted.

The toad woman stammered at the thought of having her own style used against her, expecting him to have an outburst and further prove her reasoning.

Harold rolled his eyes and shouted to the hall, "I Harold, promise on my life and magic that I did not bewitch the Sorting Hat to be exempt from the House system, so mote it be."

A blue glow was emitted from Harold as his magic accepted his oath and deemed it to be truthful.

Harold turned back to the toad woman and asked, "Are you happy now ma 'dam?"

"Yes, yes, now go find to yourself a seat _little boy_ ," she sneered.

Harold smiled politely at the toad woman, but his eyes held such an intense fury at the insult that she physically flinched at his gaze. Satisfied with scaring the woman, he turned away and walked to Hermione, who was sitting by Longbottom and one of the redheads.

"Mind if I sit here?" he softly inquired.

"Oh.. Um. Yeah sure," she stammered, quickly moving so that he could take a seat to her right, away from the redhead and Longbottom.

Some were shocked to see Granger, the girl who always had her head in a book, be asked such a question by a rather cute and unknown transfer student.

"Bloody hell! You really showed that toady didn't ya?" the redhead gleefully asked.

Harold instantly disliked this boy, although he couldn't figure out why. _Not one for making a good first impression now, is he? Oh well. I can't go judging everyone instantly. Let's see how this goes first,_ he thought.

Hermione seemed a bit nervous, as she had never been in a situation like this before. She never really had anyone who wanted to actually take the time and sit down to talk to her about things besides boy troubles (Ginny) or Quidditch (Neville and Ron.)

Seeing how flustered Hermione was, Harold decided to put her out of her misery.

"So I take it that introductions are in order?"

Harold soon found himself introduced to many of the 5th year Gryffindors at the table including Dean Thomas, Lavender Brown, and Pavarti Patil. His introduction to the famous, or infamous in some cases, Boy-Who-Lived was brief, as the boy in question sat quietly while eat his food.

 _These children are certainly.. interesting_ ,Harold thought, _but I don't think that I could see myself being friends with these people. Hermione's cool and all, but besides her, they are just too… childish. Longbottom is a wild card though. I'll have to watch him to get more information._

Finally, after the meal was done and Harold learned the toad woman's name, Umbridge, he was led to his room by Professor McGonagall.

The room was on the 5th floor, guarded by a blank portrait.

"In order to access your room, you must create a guardian for it, as it is somewhat of a late notice and none of the other portraits wish to do so. Only you and you alone can enter, as the guardian will be tied to your magical signature, preventing others from accessing it, even if they looked like you. All you will have to do is speak your _full name_ to the portrait and it will attune to your magic," McGonagall explained.

"Thank you Professor. I am grateful for your hospitality with my… _unique_ circumstances," Harold replied.

"Yes, well, off you go. Tomorrow I will give you your schedule for classes and you will attend the specified classes. You will also be able to sort out any problems you might have with any of your teachers on the weekend."

Harold gave McGonagall a fake smile that looked incredibly genuine as she began to walk away from him to perform whatever other duties the Deputy Headmistress has to attend to.

 _You won't get the drop on me that easily. We made contingency plans for this._

Turning towards the portrait, he calmly stated, "Harold."

The effect was instantaneous.

Spider webs of black and white ink began to spread across the blank portrait, filling it with a design unknown to anyone else but him. When the process was done, the portrait held a beautiful painting of a grey wolf on a snowy hill with the full moon in the background.

"Hm, honestly did not know what would happen, but this is entirely fitting," Harold stated with a smile.

Upon entering the room, he saw a black and white four poster bed with the same color bed sheets in the middle of the room. A medium sized desk was located to his right, facing away from the door, and a large wardrobe was on his left. A dresser stood by the side of his bed, with only a clock and a lamp on it. Harold found that all of his belongings were already set up in the room. _Probably the house elves,_ he mused. Shrugging off his robes, he started to ward the room, making sure that nobody could ever get in. _Can't be too careful. This_ is _Dumbledore we're talking about,_ he thought.

Exhausted, but happy with these new arrangements, he crept to bed, fully clothed, and fell asleep instantly.

September 2, 1994

Harold woke up at 5:45, as he hoped to at least be able to practice a kata or two before he went down to breakfast. He quickly got up and closed his eyes as he began to focus on his magic, wanting desperately for the room to expand. When he heard a small pop, he opened his eyes to a training area that was about the six of a boxing ring.

Darius wanted Harold to learn all aspects of magic, with wandless magic being the most important. In order to do this however, he had to teach him his own special method. Harold was taught that magic was sentient, and in order to use it, one had to have three things: intent, magical power, and focus.

With these three things, using a wand is not necessary, as the body becomes the conduit for magic, not the stick that many wizards wave around all day and night. However, these powers can cause a witch or wizard to gain a lot of attention, so they make actual sticks that look wands in order to act like your everyday run-of-the-mill magical.

Harold's "wand" was eleven inches and had black and white tendrils that spread from the base to the tip. He said that it was made of a phoenix feather and basilisk venom, although that was obviously a lie. It did not look like much, but that was the idea.

After Harold finished his katas, he showered and dressed quickly, grabbing his "wand' and put it in a holster.

Checking the clock and finding it to be 6:50, he decided he had quite a lot of time to head downstairs and get some breakfast before getting to class.

As Harold wandered the halls, he had the feeling that he was being watched. However, this feeling wasn't the creepy one that normally accompanied it, but instead was felt to be warm and caring, and before he knew it, found himself in front of the Great Hall.

 _What the… how the hell did I end up here?_ Harold wondered. After taking several moments to think about it, he decided that whatever it was couldn't be harmful, as it only helped him to reach his destination.

Walking into the hall, he saw a few Ravenclaws at their table, eating breakfast while reading their current school books. _They really gotta learn to calm the fuck down. I mean, school shouldn't rule a person's whole life._

Harold looked at the empty Slytherin table and smiled mischievously to himself. He calmly walked to it, as if this is what he did every day, and sat down in the middle, leisurely filling his plate with the food that was so graciously provided for him. _I suppose I will have to find the house elves in the kitchen for the food. It's a shame that I don't know where it is._

As the morning progressed and the students of Hogwarts filed out of bed, many were met with a strange sight in the Great Hall.

All of the Slytherins were standing by their table, creating a circle around what appeared to be the new kid who was sitting and eating breakfast. The teachers, at least those that decided to show up to breakfast, were watching the scene from afar, ready to intervene in case a fight broke out.

Inside the circle, Harold sat eating a bowl of porridge with a slice of treacle tart. All eyes were on him as he ate, and just when it seemed like someone was about to say something, he asked, "Is there something on my face?"

Many of the Slytherins were surprised at the question, wondering why he asked such a simple one.

Harold conjured a mirror with a flick of his "wand" and looked deeply into it, searching for any smear or imperfection. Satisfied that there were none, he banished the mirror with a smile.

"No it doesn't look like I do," he surmised, and here his smile turned cold, "So would somebody please tell me what the fuck you are all staring at?"

Eyes widened in shock as this filthy _mudblood_ spoke to them in such a fashion after sitting at _their_ table and ate _their_ food (not that it was theirs anyways, as everyone got the same dishes.)

"We are wondering what you were doing here. We don't normally get outsiders," a voice gently inquired.

Harold turned to the person who spoke. He appeared to be a 5th or 6th year, with dark skin and an inquisitive look on his face.

"I'm eating. Would you like to join me? Or would you rather stand around all day?"

"We wouldn't want to eat with some filthy mudblood like you!" a voice shouted.

"Yeah! We'd probably get some disease or something!" another voice exclaimed.

The platinum blonde boy that Harold remembered from the train was silent during the altercation. _He probably learned his lesson,_ Harold mused, _Time to bust some more balls I guess._

"What makes my blood dirty?" Harold asked, plastering a look of genuine curiosity on his face.

"What do you mean 'what makes my blood dirty?' of course it's dirty! You're muggleborn," stated a random voice.

"I fail to see the problem with being a muggleborn," Harold mused.

"Muggles are filthy! Everyone knows that!" shouted another.

By this time, the teachers began to walk over to the table, seeing the inevitable conflict that was about to arise.

Harold's emerald eyes turned cold, as the silver in them began to completely take over.

"Your blood is no more special that mine. There have been numerous studies that all say that blood does not affect a person's magical prowess. So clearly, you are either delusional or idiotic, either way I suggested to keep away from me before I do something that I might regret," he spat.

Silence was met with Harold's words as the teachers hurried over to avoid a fight breaking out.

Some foolish 6th year pulled out his wand in anger, with a curse on his lips that was to dispose of this filthy _cretin,_ when suddenly, his wand was cleanly split in half.

Nobody moved, for they did not understand how the boy was able to protect himself in such a fashion, while Harold continued eating, acting as if nothing was wrong.

"Harold my boy," Dumbledore addressed as he walked over with a twinkle in his eyes that was full of humor, "what have you done here?"

"Nothing Headmaster," stated Harold, "I'm just enjoying my breakfast. You _did_ say that I could sit _anywhere_ , and I thought that I might want to try and reach out and try and make some friends in Slytherin."

Many of the Slytherins looked at Harold in disgust for even thinking of the idea that he wanted to be _friends_ with them.

"Yes well, carry on I suppose. Although next time, a simple 'Hello' might work better."

"Of course Headmaster."

Pleased with himself, Dumbledore walked back to his table to finish his food as Harold put his utensils on his plate and got up from the table. He headed towards McGonagall who was off to the side, staring at him in shock.

"I believe that you were to give me my schedule today Professor," he divulged.

"Oh yes, of course," stammered McGonagall grabbing it from the stack in her hand, "here you are Harold. Make sure to keep up your studies and stay out of trouble."

"Oh I don't know Professor," Harold chuckled, "Trouble always seems to find me."

He then walked away, looking down at the paper and noticing that he had Charms, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday while having double Potions and double Ancient Runes every Tuesday and Thursday. He then had double Arithmancy every Monday and Friday, right before DADA. He had Charms with the Puffs and Ravens, Transfiguration with the Ravens and Snakes and DADA with the Gryffs and Snakes. He then had Potions with the Gryffs and Snakes, while having mixed classes of Ancient Runes and Arithmancy.

 _Why they put Gryffindors and Slytherins in the two classes that have the greatest chance for "accidents" is beyond me,_ Harold thought.

Seeing that he had some time to kill before he went to Charms, he walked back to his room and gathered the necessary books and supplies for the day in his book bag. Confident that he had everything, he came back down and went to Charms on the third floor, which he found with a Point Me spell.

The classroom had three rows, each facing the teacher's desk, and held mountains of books on the many different charms that existed in the world. The teacher, a small man named Flitwick was currently standing on top of the books, speaking to some of the Ravenclaws who arrived early about some obscure charm that they found in a book. _Typically Ravens_ , Harold chuckled.

Harold sat in the second row and began to take out parchment and ink for notes while also placing the required reading on the corner of his desk. Satisfied with the arrangement, he noticed the light skinned redhead that sat next to him. She was in Hufflepuff, as her tie suggested, and was busy preparing her desk as he had.

"Hello, my name is Harold," he offered, as he held out his hand.

"Oh, hello. I'm Susan. Susan Bones," she replied as she shook his hand.

"No, you are _a_ Susan. You are not the only Susan out there you know," Harold playfully informed.

"Hm… I never really thought of it like that," Susan laughed.

"Well that's alright, most people don't."

"I suppose… You know, you've caused quite the trouble, and on your first day too!"

"Oh, how so?"

"Sitting at the Slytherins table first thing in the morning? You're either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid."

"Well I'd like to think it's the former rather than the latter. Although I wasn't placed in Gryffindor, so I don't know."

Both of them smiled and the joke and began to talk about what Hogwarts is like.

"So you don't have any friends in Slytherin? None at all?"

"No, not really. They mainly keep to themselves, that is, when they're not trying to cause trouble for everyone else."

"Hmm, that's a bit ridiculous," Harold stated.

"Yeah well, I don't see it changing anytime soon," Susan replied.

At that moment the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class.

"Alright children settle down," Flitwick squeaked, "Now today will be a review lesson, as I know many of you might have forgotten some of what we have gone over since last year. OWLS year is very important, as these examinations will be what decide your future. I would like you to do every charm since first year in front of the class in order to gauge what skill level you are at, and so that we may see where you might need a refresher or two.

And so that is how Harold found himself watching his fellow 5th years performing in front of the rest of the students, gaining house points if they remembered most of what they learned, but losing them if they could not remember up to third year. Most students did not lose points, however many did not gain any as well.

When it was Harold's turn, Flitwick asked him to perform certain charms, as he would not know what they had covered in the last four years. When he adequately performed _every single one_ , Flitwick then got into fifth year charms, and when that was done, sixth year. Needless to say, Harold could perform charms above seventh year level, but below a Master.

"My, my Harold, you certainly are an interesting one aren't you? It's a shame that you aren't in Ravenclaw," Flitwick praised.

"Thank you Professor," Harry simply replied, accepting his praise for what it was worth.

"Now, if the rest of the class could perform half of those by the end of the year, I'd say that you'd all have your NEWTS instead of your OWLS!" Flitwick exclaimed cheerfully.

The class gave Harold various looks, some were impressed, others angry, and others jealous.

Harold simply smiled and sat back down in his seat, listening attentively to the Professor speak.

"Susan," Harold whispered.

"Yes?" she whispered back.

"I was wondering if I could have lunch with you?"

"Oh, sure Harold. I'll be sitting at the end of the Hufflepuff table."

"Thank you."

Both smiled for the same reason, they had found a new friend.

After Charms, Harold made his way to Classroom 1B, also known as the Transfiguration classroom, on the ground floor.

 _I wonder if this class will go the same as the other one,_ he thought, _It probably will. I know Dumbledore is partly doing this to see how advanced his new student is. He probably also had McGonagall spout that crap about the portrait so that he could find out my real name. Too bad for him, Darius made sure that Harold is my real and only name._ Harold chuckled at the thought of one upping "the Greatest Defender of the Light."

As Harold made his way into the classroom he noticed a few things. It was incredibly large with three rows of four desks and was able to also fit cages of animals in the corner. McGonagall was a no-nonsense teacher as Harold observed, _But I already knew this._

Much like the last class, Harold performed Transfiguration past NEWTS level, much to the shock of the Slytherins who were not able to see his prowess in Charms.

McGonagall's praise for him was more subdued than Flitwick's probably due to the fact that he might have told her about what had happened in his Charms class. She also gave him a look of clear suspicion, which he returned with a smile.

During this class, he met a pair of Raven boys named Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein, who struck up a conversation with him on his abilities in Transfiguration.

"So how the hell are you able to do all of those charms and spells so easily? That's NEWTS magic and you do it without an incantation _or_ proper wand movement," Terry asked.

"It's all about the intent with Transfiguration, and magic in general. Intent, magical power, and focus. If you have those three things, all magic is easy. With Transfiguration, you have to truly visualize the object as what you are trying to make, not what it is."

"So basically… you have to see the match as a needle and not a match?" Anthony surmised.

"Basically," Harold confirmed.

The class passed smoothly, with Harold giving hints to both Terry and Anthony when they needed help with their review. At the end, both were fully caught up in everything that they did during fourth year.

"Thanks Harold," Terry called, as Harold walked out of class, "We have a study group between some of the smarter kids for all classes. We were wondering if you would join? It's nothing too big, but if you want, it would help you make some new friends."

"Sure, I'll join. Just tell me where and what time tomorrow during breakfast. I could sit with you guys," Harold offered.

"Yeah that'd be cool. See ya Harold!"

"Bye guys."

During lunch, Harold and Susan sat together as promised, and were surrounded by Susan's friends. Harold was introduced to Hannah Abbott, Justin Finch-Fletchey and a particularly rude boy named Zacharias Smith.

When Smith, who was one of the ones who were jealous of Harold, arrived late at the table and spotted him sitting with the 5th year Puffs, he shouted in disgust, "What the hell are you doing here? This is our table, get out!"

Heads turned at the sudden outburst, as Harold calmly explained, "Well, I _was_ sitting here talking to my new friends and enjoying a nice and quiet lunch until _you_ came in and interrupted us. So, if you could do us a favor, either sit down and shut up or leave because you're acting like a first year."

Needless to say, Smith quickly shut up after that and everything returned to normal.

After lunch, Harold said goodbye to Susan and her friends as he made his way to Arithmancy.

Much as the last two classes, Harold found himself to be above the class in general, doing work fit for a 6th year. There were a couple Slytherins in this class that weren't a part of the public display in the morning, but all of them completely ignored his advances.

 _Whatever, they'll come around eventually. They were probably threatened by the older ones to stay away from me._

At the end of that class, Harold finally made his way to Defense.

 _With that toad woman teaching, I already know that this class is not going to be fun_ or _educational in the slightest,_ Harold thought glumly.

Walking slowly into the mostly empty classroom, he decided to sit in the very back, already knowing that he was on Umbridge's shit list.

Right before the bell rang, all of the Gryffindors in 5th year made their way into the class, for they already knew what was to come.

Spotting Harold, Hermione, Neville and a reluctant Ronald sat by him in the back.

"You know this is going to be absolutely dreadful, right?" Harold inquired.

"Oh I'm sure it won't be _that_ bad," Hermione assured.

Sadly, it _was_ that bad.

As soon as class started, the fat toad herself went into a speech about how she would prepare them for their OWLS, how she was here for the ministry and how the OWLS were important for them in the future and blah blah blah…

 _Wait… What?!_

Harold raised his hand, and when Umbridge pointed at him with her stubby little finger asked, "Could you repeat that again Professor?"

"I said that we will be going over the _theory_ of defensive magic for the entire year and tha-"

"So we're not actually going to be _practicing_ spells?" Ronald interrupted.

"Raise your hand if you want to speak Mr. Weasley!" Umbridge scolded, "As for your question, I do not see why you would need to _use_ any spells in this class."

Pavarti raised her hand, and when called on asked, "But what if we are attacked?"

"Attacked? Why would you ever be attacked my dear?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe it's because Voldemort's back?" Neville proposed, voice dripping in sarcasm.

Silence was met with his words as Umbridge turned as pink as her cardigan.

"You have been told by certain people that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is alive and well. This. Is. A. Lie."

"IT'S NOT A LIE, I SAW HIM! I FOUGHT HIM!" shouted Neville.

"ENOUGH!" Umbridge reprimanded.

The classroom was silent once again as Umbridge breathed deeply, trying hard to calm herself down. Once it seemed like she had finally done it, Harold raised his hand calmly.

"Yes?"

"Sooo what if we're getting mugged?"

The Gryffindors erupted into laughter as some of the Slytherins smiled slightly at his cheek. Umbridge huffed indignantly at the unfairness of her students as she stormed out of the room, looking to go tell off Dumbledore for the tenth time that day.

As the class ended, and everyone was packing their bags, Hermione finally plucked up her courage and asked, "So who are you going to spend dinner with?"

Harold chuckled at her obvious line of thought and proposed, "Well, I had breakfast with the Slytherins and lunch with the Puffs. I think that I can spend some time with the Gryffindors."

Hermione's eyes brightened at this, and grabbed Harold to lead him down to the Great Hall.

"Hermione, if you wanted to hold my hand, all you had to do was ask," Harold joked.

Said girl began to blush in embarrassment and stopped while quickly letting go of Harold's hand, who began to playfully laugh at her discomfort.

"C'mon, let's go brainiac, I do want to find some good spots," Harold reminded.

 _Dinner is much different at the Gryffindor table,_ Harold thought, _I could grow used to this place. Although, if every day is as hard as this, I might not be able to. Being with all of these people can be somewhat… uncomfortable._

Harold was brought out of his thinking with a question by Hermione.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I asked what other classes are you taking besides Arithmancy?"

"Oh, I have Ancient Runes."

"Runes and Arithmancy? You're as much of a nerd as 'Mione!" Ronald interrupted.

Harold gave Ronald a cold look and snapped, "What's that supposed to mean? Just because we push ourselves academically doesn't mean that we are what that negative connotation implies."

Neville stared at Harold and Ron for a moment before pointing out, "You know he is right Ron. You might want to push yourself a bit more this year. It is OWL year after all."

Ron looked at Neville in disbelief, "You're taking his side? I'm your best mate!" he accused.

"I'm not taking any side. I'm just saying that you ought to push yourself a bit more in your studies, that's all."

Ron huffed and got up from the table, storming out of the hall in anger.

"I'm sorry but that guy just rubs me the wrong way," Harold explained.

"It's okay. He can be… difficult sometimes," Neville reassured.

Dinner went smoothly after that, with Harold learning a bit more about Hermione and Neville, like the fact that Hermione's parents were dentists and Neville's favorite class was Herbology.

As Harold made his way past his portrait and into his room, he thought about his day. _All in all, it was a better ending to a day that started out with me almost fighting all of Slytherin to eat at a table_ , he mused, _but it's going to be tough adjusting to all of these_ people _. One day, sarcasm and humor won't save me._

Shaking himself out of these thoughts, he dressed himself in black and white pajamas and went to bed, hoping that everything would get easier with time.

 **Author's Note:**

 **So now you see the many sides of Harold. He is a great adapter, but it will take even him some time to adjust to everything.**

 **Hope you all liked it! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5: Friendship Is Real Bitch

Chapter 5: Friendship Can Be A Real Bitch

Saturday September 3, 1995

As Harold woke up in his black and white bed, he sighed and wearily thought, _I really hope that this day going to be easier than yesterday._

Unfortunately for him, things are rarely ever that easy.

After practicing another difficult kata, Harold showered and made his way down to breakfast. _Time to see what the Ravenclaws are like._

Just like yesterday, after absently walking for a bit, he found himself in front of the Great Hall. _This is getting to be very helpful… I wonder if it's some space time magic or…_

Any thoughts that would have come after that were immediately cut off as he heard a loud BANG and several shouts of protest mixed with laughter. Rushing to enter the Great Hall to see what the commotion was, Harold bit back a laugh as he saw all of Slytherin supporting Gryffindor colors. No body parts were spared as hair, skin and clothes all turned red and gold.

The Gryffindor table, as well as others from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, all laughed at their fellow students. Finding Terry and Anthony in the spectacle, Harold decided to keep his promise and sit by them for the morning.

"So what the heck was that all about?" Harold asked.

"Oh just the Weasley twins idea of a prank," Terry snorted.

And sure enough, two young men who looked identical to one another were laughing the hardest at the Gryffindor table. As usual, none of the staff intervened.

"A prank hmm? Anybody ever get back at them?" Harold wondered.

"No, they're too good for that. I guess testing all of those pranks out on other people made them sort of immune to others," Anthony explained.

"Well now that won't do," Harold stated, "There has to be a balance to such things. Hmmm… Oh! I've got it!"

Harold closed his eyes in concentration, focusing on everybody in the room. With a flick of his "wand," a loud BOOM was emitted as smoke filled entire the hall.

When the smoke cleared, everyone in the hall laughed in delight at the irony of the situation. All of Gryffindor was plastered in Slytherin colors, just like the Slytherins with Gryffindor. But the prank didn't stop there. Hufflepuff sported Ravenclaw colors, as Ravenclaw wore the colors of Hufflepuff. The staff was dressed in a rainbow of colors, as most of them were not Heads of House. Umbridge wore all black, looking like a widower at a funeral. Finally, Harold had all four houses, with Slytherin hair, Hufflepuff skin, and a mix of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor robes. Although it might look ridiculous on most people, it seemed as though he could wear it well.

"What the hell did you do?!" Terry harshly whispered.

"Oh come on Terry, Hufflepuff yellow looks good on you!" Anthony snorted.

"I definitely agree Anthony. And look, I think the Weasley twins will now think twice before pranking someone else," Harold smirked.

And sure enough the Weasley twins were shouting in outrage, trying to find the prankster who one upped them.

"Why did you prank yourself?" Terry grumbled.

"Because if I was the only one not pranked, I'd be the prime suspect. Look at Snape and Umbridge. I'd be dead if they found out it was me. Besides, I'm the one who got the worst of it. No one will suspect me, in fact, they might think that whoever did this doesn't like me at all."

"Very clever Harold," Anthony praised.

"I try. So tell me, what is Snape like? I heard Hermione's version last night, and I want to know yours."

After breakfast, the boys said their goodbyes and Harold walked back to his room for his book bag. He then wandered the halls in search of Hermione. After searching for half an hour, he found her in the library with a stack of books surrounding her. _Funny, I would have thought that she did her studying in a more serene place than this. But I guess I just don't know her that well._

Harold slowly crept up behind her, which wasn't that hard as she was too focused on her homework and whispered, "Hello my Mary Jane."

Hermione jumped out of her chair and whipped out her wand in case of trouble. Seeing that it was Harold, she smacked him in the arm.

"Harold! What the hell! I was busy," she whispered harshly.

"Whoa, don't attack the poor new kid," Harold whispered gently, holding his hands up in a placating way, "I just wanted to spend some time with you, that's all."

Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just that I had to deal with Ronald's shouting about you last night and then this morning's idiotic display," she apologized.

"Ronald yelled at you about me? What did he say?"

"He was talking about how you should have been sorted into Ravenclaw because all you seem to care about is being a 'Stupid little bookworm who has no friends and no life' and how you insulted the 'Best Friend of the Boy-Who-Lived' and how you wouldn't get away with it."

."Wow, that boy clearly has more issues than I thought. Why are you friends with him again?" Harold asked.

Hermione turned a bright pink and replied, "Because he's the guy that I told you about. The guy that won't give me the time of day."

Harold was silent in shock before whispering, "What!" in disbelief.

Hermione was now a bright red, and looked to be a mixture of ashamed and flustered.

"Yeah. But now, I'm not so sure. With you being here, I've kind of realized how… wrong Ronald would be for me," she carefully replied.

Noticing what she was implying with her words, but not knowing what to do about it, Harold gave her a shrug and explained, " _Anyone_ could have told you that."

Deciding that it was best to leave _that_ conversation for another time, Harold began his homework, asking Hermione simple things like how her day was or how she thinks the year will turn out. Neither noticed the redheaded girl smiling at them from afar, hoping for the best for her friend.

During lunch, Harold found himself sitting with the Gryffindors. Hermione sat on his right, while Neville came in and sat on his left, much to the shock of the table. Surrounding them was Lavender, Pavarti, Dean and Seamus. Ronald sat on Neville's left, partially excluded from the group.

"So what were you guys up to?" Harold asked.

"We finished up some of the Transfiguration homework. Although vanishing object is still pretty difficult for me," Parvati replied, "Do you do tutoring Harold? We all heard how good you were from the Ravenclaws."

"Yeah I did want to talk to you about that. Where did you learn all of those spells?" Hermione inquired.

Harold smiled at the question, but was silently freaking out on the inside, _How the hell do I say this without them asking me more later? I don't know how teenaged minds fully work yet!_

As he was busy thinking about his response, he did not notice the entire table go silent, waiting to hear it, for they too were curious about where this mysterious boy learned such advanced magic.

"I had a teacher," Harold simply replied, "And we traveled a lot, so that we couldn't settle down in one place. He wanted me to be prepared for anything in the world, so he taught me all he knew. Which was a lot."

"And what, if I may ask, was your teachers name Harold?" a voice asked from behind the group.

Heads turned to see Dumbledore standing behind Harold, waiting for his response.

"Darius," he politely informed.

"Darius? What an unusual name. You don't hear it too often. Any relation to the Persian king? Darius I?"

"No Headmaster, that great ruler and my Darius are not related. At least, I don't think that they are. We don't really talk much about the past," Harold carefully explained.

"Ah yes, well, I would like to meet this Darius at least once before the year is over Harold. He sounds like an excellent teacher, and a fine man if you are any indication," Dumbledore proposed.

"Oh of course Headmaster. I'm sure that he would be delighted to make your acquaintance," Harold promised.

As Dumbledore made his way to the staff table he began to form a plan, _Darius? What a ridiculous name. Probably fake like the brat's. I'll have to try and gain Harold's trust. Maybe introduce him to more of the Weasleys. They're a nice Light-sided family. With the right fine tuning, he will be an excellent pawn for the Light. It is, after all, for the Greater Good._

 _Oh I seriously hope that the old codger fell for that,_ Harold thought, _It took all of my willpower to not rip him a new one. He's playing with people's lives for God's Sake!_

As Harold's thoughts continued down this road, the whole table began to talk about unimportant things like Quidditch and gossip. All of them, except a certain redhead who was fuming over Dumbledore taking special interest in _Harold._

 _He's not so great,_ Ronald scoffed, _I bet he can't even play a decent game of chess. I'll show everyone how much better Ronald Weasley, friend to the Boy-Who-Lived, is than lowly Harold!_

After lunch, Harold went back to his room in order to let off some steam from the day's events. _I can't_ believe _I panicked like that,_ Harold thought glumly, _Stupid, stupid, stupid._

Remembering that anger can be turned into a positive emotion, Harold began to practice like never before, using his powers to engulf _Higure_ in lightning, slashing the air, imagining Voldemort and Dumbledore at the end of his blade. Ozone filled the room as Harold got so lost in his workout, he didn't even realize that he split his desk and wardrobe in half.

 _Oops,_ he thought, quickly repairing the damage with a flick of his wrist, _I really need to find a better spot to practice. It's still too cramped in here._

Luck seemed to be with him, as a door formed from nothingness to the far right of his room, expanding it a little to compensate for the new addition.

 _Well that was… interesting. If I can wish up_ anything _, how about a dozen strippers?_

All he got was silence.

 _Damn. Okay, go through the magical door, or stay here looking like an idiot?_

He went through the door. As he passed the threshold, he entered a mirrored room, much like a dance studio. In the middle of the room was a crouched figure in all black.

 _Righhttt, this isn't creepy at all._

Harold crept forward with his senses on high alert, with _Higure_ in his right hand, waiting for something to pop up and try and attack him.

But the attack never came.

"I didn't think strippers would be appropriate for one such as yourself," the figure sang as she stood up.

Her voice, and he could now tell it was a woman from her figure, sounded warm and inviting, like a mother did when talking to her children. Harold closed his eyes and tried to remember where he felt this warmth before.

After several moments in silence, he opened them in shock and whispered, "No way."

"And why not?" the figure mused, "Were you not taught that magic was sentient? Couldn't this also be possible?"

"But, you're all around us! So how could you possibly be here as well?"

"I will not try and get into the specifics, for even I do not know them all, but let's just say that after soaking up enough magic for more than a thousand years, I've learned a few tricks or too. It is nice to finally meet you Harold," she informed as she lowered her hood.

Harold gave a sharp intake of breath as he saw her face.

"But you look just like…"

"Of course I do, you yourself described my touch as a motherly embrace, so, doesn't it make sense that I look like her?"

Lily Potter, or at least the woman who looked like her, stood in front of Harold with a pleased expression on her face. She looked exactly like his 18 month brain had remembered her, with long red hair, face filled with freckles and had eyes so like his own, but without the silver.

Harold held back a small tear and a sob as he saw his mother again for the first time in 14 years. _But it's not my mother,_ he reminded himself, _my mother is dead._

The woman, seeing Harold's conflict, gave a small cough and began to explain how the room worked.

"This is the Room of Requirement, known to others as the Come-And-Go Room. Anything you wish for, within reason, will be granted here. I decided to show you this because I believe that you are the only one who can stop this dreadful war and bring peace to Magical Britain."

"Why? Because I'm the Chosen One?"

"Lily" tilted her head to the side, much like a cat does when it's thinking and questioned, "So you admit it?"

"Please," Harold scoffed, "I'm not going to let some half-baked prophecy from some drunk rule my life. The only thing that I plan to do is destroy all of Voldemort's Horcruxes and let these idiots handle the rest."

"Ah, but what if he goes after you or the people you love? You know he has spies in Hogwarts, Snape is not fully trustworthy, and the children of his Death Eaters even less so. They will tell him how powerful you are in the coming days. And he will come to seek your assistance as an ally, or kill you as a potential enemy. There is nothing stopping him from going to Hermione's house and killing her parents as a way to get back at you," she retaliated.

"Let him try, because if he is foolish enough to do it, then I shall kill him. I was taught to fight in defense, if not for my own than for others. You know the line I walk. I cannot kill in cold blood, nor can I sit back and watch others die," Harold explained.

"Lily" was silent for moment before she whispered, "I understand. But do you have a 'face' for what is to come?"

Harold stared at her in shock before harshly whispering, "How do you know that!?"

"I know many things Harold. Your defenses are good. Great even. No magical alive could pierce through _that_ thunderstorm. But then again, no magical has been alive for more than a thousand years who can practice Legilimency."

Feeling as if his mind had been violated in a way, he croaked, "Leave. Please."

"Lily" sighed and shook her head, "How could I leave you… when I'm all around you?"

The figure then disappeared in a wisp of smoke, passing by Harold who felt an almost tender embrace from it, before leaving the room, and Harold, alone.

Harold walked back through the door, mentally exhausted and decided that dinner wasn't too important. He dressed for bed and fell asleep, trying to get "Lily's" statement out of his mind.

 _I understand. But do you have a "face" for what is to come?_

"What do you know anyways? You don't know me," Harold grumbled, falling asleep instantly.

 _August 1986_

 _Two hooded figures walked hand in hand along a busy back street in Japan's magical district. One figure looked to be about 6 years old and had raven black hair with slightly piercing emerald eyes. There wasn't any trace of silver in them._

 _The other figure was of average height with electric blue eyes and a threatening expression on his face, scanning over the crowd looking for any sign of trouble. The child noticed this, but decided to say nothing for now._

 _As the two entered what seemed to be a small time weapons store but was really a front for the best blacksmith in Japan, both pulled down their hoods, with the taller man's face changing to that of a pleased expression. Again, the younger of the two noticed this but said nothing. The store had a heavy odor of oil and fire due to the work that it offered._

 _"Hello," the taller figure introduced to the clerk in perfect Japanese, "My name is Darius, I'm here to pick up a package from a man named Twilight?"_

 _"A man name Twilight? Yes, yes, he is in the back," the clerk answered while pointing to a curtain._

 _"C'mon little one," Darius encouraged while heading towards the back, "Now, I want you to try to keep eye contact with this man that we are to meet at all times, do you understand?"_

 _When Harold nodded, Darius ruffled his hair and pulled back the curtain, stepping inside with a confident expression on his face._

 _As Darius was talking to the short and muscular Japanese man that they had come looking for, Harold stared at Darius' face, watching how every muscle moved and cycled through various expressions._

 _As Harold's gaze drifted towards the other man, their eyes seem to lock. Harold felt a strange pressure in the back of his head for a few moments before it disappeared. The man grunted, nodded his head, and handed Darius a package that was about 4 feet long._

 _"The blade will grow with the student, making it perfect for the boy. I don't need to tell you that it's one of the finest that I've ever made. Be careful with it."_

 _"What is its name?"_

 _"_ Higure. Higure Senkusha."

 _Darius nodded and said goodbye while taking Harold's arm and walked back out to the street. His earlier expression was once again plastered on his face as they hurried back to the apparition point, arriving home with a single pop._

 _As soon as they arrived, Harold tugged on Darius' cloak and asked, "Why did you have all of those 'faces'?"_

 _"What are you talking about?" Darius asked, putting his cloak on a nearby chair._

 _"When we were walking and when you were in the shop. You had different 'faces.' Why?"_

 _"Oh… Well you see, there are many different people in this world. And because there are so many different people, there are many different ideals and beliefs. Some wish to harm others, while some wish to help. I use these 'faces' to_ discourage _the bad people who wish to harm, and_ encourage _the good people who wish to help. It's a survival technique."_

 _"Okay… I think I understand," Harold replied, not understanding in the slightest._

 _"It's okay," Darius laughed, "Just think of it like this. There are many different situations that you can find yourself in. In order to be a good adapter, you have to have many different 'faces.'"_

 _"Oh, well that makes a bit more sense," Harold remarked, still not understanding._

 _Darius laughed and said, "I'm sure that it doesn't."_

Monday September 5, 1995

After spending all of Sunday in his room sulking, Harold finally came out on Monday to attend classes. Of course, he made sure to get some breakfast first.

And that is how he found himself at the Hufflepuff table next to Susan, laughing about a joke that Justin made. Just as the laughing died down, they heard a shout from the Gryffindor table.

"I don't know why you spend time with him! All he probably wants to do is get into your skirt! Why else would he want to hang out with you?"

Silence filled the hall until a loud crack was heard as Ronald was slapped across the face by Hermione.

"HOW DARE YOU! Harold has only been here for five days and has been a better friend than you have for five years. FIVE YEARS RONALD! As far as I'm concerned, our friendship is through!"

And with that, Hermione stormed from the hall, tears running down her face, as one of her longest friendships was now over.

"You!" Ronald shouted, pointing at Harold, "This is all your fault!"

"I am finding that extremely hard to believe," Harold drawled, getting up and looking at Ronald with a cold expression on his face, "Although it seems as though I was wrong. You are even more idiotic than I realized."

"ARRRGGHH!"

Ronald whipped out his wand, ready to show the whole school how ridiculous _Harold_ really is, when suddenly, his wand was cleanly cut in half, just like the 6th year Slytherin's.

Harold wiped imaginary dirt off of himself and walked away, grabbing his book bag and heading to Charms. Needless to say, the Hogwarts rumor mill was turning like crazy, with everyone coming up with insane theories about the mystery that was Harold.

After a successful session in Charms and Transfiguration, Harold was making his way to lunch when he heard crying in an empty classroom on the ground floor. Taking a peek inside, he saw Hermione, with tears running down her slightly pink face.

Harold closed the door behind him and locked it silently, tiptoeing to Hermione so as to not alarm her.

When he finally made it behind her, he whispered, "It's okay Mary Jane, don't let that old idiot Brock get to you."

Although Hermione was used to Harold's weird tendencies to find her when she is in distress, she still couldn't help but jump a bit at his voice.

 _So much for not startling her,_ he mused.

"I tried to walk silently so that I didn't startle you, but that obviously failed," Harold laughed.

"Obviously," Hermione retorted, wiping the tears from her face. She then began to laugh bitterly before asking, "You think Ronald is Venom?"

"Of course. Although it might be in a more literal fashion. I think that his friendship with you was a poison. I still can't understand why you hung out with him."

"Well it doesn't matter anymore, now does it? It's over."

"So it is."

The two remained in a comfortable silence for a while before Hermione opened her mouth to speak.

"C'mon, let's get you to bed, classes can wait for tomorrow. I'll even let you borrow my notes," Harold interrupted.

"Fine… but, stay with me for a while? I don't want to be alone."

And stay he did.

Tuesday September 6, 1995

Potions. The class that Harold knew was either going to be extremely entertaining, or dreadfully boring.

After having performed his usual morning routine and having breakfast with the Ravenclaw duo that he had grown to befriend, Harold made his way down to the dungeons with Hermione. The pair walked close together, casually bumping into one another on occasion, neither wishing to complain about it.

"I am telling you, Professor Snape is dreadful," Hermione whispered as they walked into the classroom, taking seats in the far back.

"Oh really? Then why do you still call him Professor?" Harold retorted.

"He _is_ still a teacher. Even if he shows blatant favoritism to his Slytherins. And we always seem to have this class with them!"

"That is something that I've noticed. Perhaps the Headmaster… no, it's impossible."

"What? What about the Headmaster?"

Harold hated doing this to Hermione, but he needed her to start think for herself, and if he had to give her a push in the right direction, so be it.

"Perhaps he does it to fuel this stupid house rivalry that you all have? I've only been here for less than a week and I can clearly see it. The Slytherins are all literally excluded from the rest of the school. Maybe he wants it this way."

Giving Hermione time to think about it, Harold set up his cauldron and other supplies in preparation for the class. As soon as the bell had rung, the door flew open, with Snape striding in, billowing cloak and all.

 _Oh this guy is a total douche,_ Harold concluded.

Almost as if he heard Harold's thought, Snape turned at him and sneered, "Well, well, well. It seems as though we have a new celebrity in our midst. I wonder if he is as good at Potions as he is with causing trouble. Tell me Harold, what is Amortentia?"

Harold took his time thinking about the answer, wanting Snape to think he had won.

"A love potion so strong that it creates a very powerful infatuation in the drinker. It should also be highly illegal, but that's up for debate."

Snape looked at Harold in shock before demanding, "What are the ingredients in the Drought of Living Death?"

"Powdered root of asphodel, infusion of wormwood, Valerian root, a sopophorous bean and a sloth brain. Oh, I forgot. All with water of course," Harold replied with an innocent smile on his face.

 _Take that you son-of-a-bitch._

"Polyjuice Potion," Snape sneered.

"Lacewing flies, leeches, powdered bicorn horn, knotgrass, fluxweed, shredded boomslang skin, and a piece of the person that you wish to turn into," Harold listed.

This went on for the entire period before the bell rang and Snape snarled, "Harold, stay after class."

Everyone quickly left; wanting to see what would happen next but were too afraid of Snape's wrath focused on them.

"I do not know where you learned about Potions in such an… _in depth_ fashion, but I would like you to know that I find you to be… _adequate._ If you ever find yourself wanting to further test your brewing skills, you might find it _prudent_ to visit the dungeons."

"Thank you Professor. I will make sure to do so," Harold replied with a small smile on his face.

Figuring that the conversation was over, he walked out of class and headed towards the Great Hall for lunch.

 _That was… disturbing. Very, very disturbing._ Harold gave an involuntary chill at the thought of "further testing his brewing skills" with Snape. _Creepy little bastard._

After Harold recounted his tale to the Gryffindors during lunch, he walked to Ancient Runes with Hermione.

Deciding that he should try again with the Slytherins, Harold found himself sitting next to the dark skinned boy that he had met on his first morning.

Taking the initiative, Harold introduced himself to the boy, only to receive a grunt in response.

 _Okay then, this is going to be harder than I thought._

Although the class might have been difficult for most, Harold had had instruction in the field for over 7 years, which left him with the knowledge of a 7th year.

The black boy only talked to Harold when he needed a clarification on what Professor Babbling was saying, as even he saw how adept Harold was in all of his subjects.

Throughout the period, Harold found himself stealing looks at Hermione as she worked, liking the way that she looked when she concentrated on a hard problem or when she helped her partner figure out one that she already knew.

 _Oh… I am gonna get screwed over here… aren't I?_

Dinner was an interesting affair at the Hufflepuff table, as Justin and Hannah were explaining to Susan and Harold about a prank that the Weasley twins pulled on some 5th year Slytherins.

"It was not pretty. They have been singing that song nonstop all day! It's not funny at all!"

"Hmmm… maybe it's time that the Weasley twins got another taste of their own medicine?" Harold inquired.

"Well what do you have in mind?" Susan asked.

"Oh, you'll see."

Harold once again found himself focusing his powers, this time however, he only focused on the two redheaded twins.

With a loud POP, the two twins suddenly had the urge to jump onto the table and sing "Baby Come Back" by Player.

Laughter filled the hall as the twins made a fool of themselves in front of everyone.

Susan was holding onto her stomach, trying in vain to stop laughing.

"I don't know what song that is but that is brilliant!" she marveled.

"Truly a work of art!" Hannah agreed.

"Why thank you," Harold jested, bowing slightly in his seat so as to not get caught for the prank.

Needless to say, it turned out to be a great end of the day.

 **Author's Note:**

 **So with this chapter, I wanted to bring up the reason why Harold seems to have almost constant mood swings. He is doing it to survive. Hopefully I made that clear enough.**

 **Another thing. So I somehow found myself writing scenes like the classroom one about H/Hr. I don't really know where it came from, but I just feel like it fits. Now, this is not me saying that they will become a pair, and if they do, it might not be permanent.**

 **On another note, my first flashback scene! I hope that I did the style justice. Like I said, first fan fic. If you see any mistakes, please please please point them out to me. I want this to be the best that it can be.**

 **A huge thanks to Harry Potter Wikia as they had all of the ingredients and some info that I used. I might be using them more in the future.**

 **For those of you wondering why Snape was a bit lenient on Harold, you have to realize the circumstances. No one knows he Harry, and he isn't in Gryffindor. My Snape will at least recognize talent in other houses besides Gryffindors. (I mean, if Snape loved Gryffindors, then the world might explode.)**

 **And yes, I went there! I gave yall clues in I think the third chapter? I have read stories on a living Hogwarts. and I wanted to put my own little twist on things. Hope I did it right.**

 **Next chapter will explain what Harold's power is and how he has developed it into different moves. Might just be a flashback chapter actually.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading! Your support is duly appreciated!**


	6. Chapter 6: Oops

Chapter 6: Oops

 _August 1992_

 _"Again."_

 _Harold gave Darius an exasperated sigh before focusing on the task at hand. He began to "search for the spark within him" as Darius had explained, and tried to grab onto it with his magic. When he found it, he tried moving the energy to his feet. Succeeding in his task, he opened his eyes to see time "slow down" to an agonizing crawl._

 _"Good," Darius encouraged, seemly unaffected by the time change around him, "Now, try taking a step forward."_

 _And he did. But instead of moving a short distance with one step, Harold found himself running into the padded wall, ten feet in front of him._

 _"Oww," he groaned, trying to get back on his feet as time "went back" to its normal pace._

 _"It'll take some getting used to," Darius laughed, "But this is just another example of what a lightning elemental can do. It's an incredibly useful skill if I do say so myself."_

 _Harold grinned at the thought of growing up to be a powerful elemental._

Maybe one day I'll be just as awesome as Darius.

 _January 1994_

 _"Again."_

 _Harold gave Darius a charming grin before focusing on the task at hand. Easily calling upon his spark, Harold began to dash around the room, slashing at each and every training dummy that Darius had set up. As he made it back to his original spot, he instantly collapsed to the ground, releasing his power and "returning" time to its original pace._

 _Darius clicked the stopwatch that he had been holding and recorded the time._

 _"10 seconds. 10 seconds for 10 dummies spaced 10 feet apart. Congratulations, you can move 10 feet per second," he reported with a pleased expression on his face._

 _"But does it have to be so exhausting?" Harold asked, wiping the sweat off his brow, "How do you make this look so easy?"_

 _"Practice. It does make perfect after all. Give it a few months, and you'll be able to do it_ once _without any physical distress. This takes a considerable amount of control and power. I'm a bit surprised that you could do it so well now. But, if you try to push yourself and do more too soon, you'll end up like that," Darius explained, pointing at Harold's exhausted physique._

 _Darius let Harold catch his breath before he started to set up a new workout. Thinking of the speed that he just saw him exhibit, he chuckled and said, "Imagine if that scar that used to be on your head was on your chest instead."_

 _It took Harold a few moments to figure the joke, but when he did he laughed and boasted, "Psshh Flash's got nothing on me."_

 _Darius rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Speedy."_

 _"It's okay Darius, I_ know _you wish you were as awesome as me."_

Saturday September 9, 1995

On a windy and cold September morning, all of the professors at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry were currently waiting in the Headmaster's office. They had gathered to begin the annual conference to discuss the students' performance. Any student that stood out, both in a good and bad way, were discussed in order to see what could be done for them in the future.

As soon as Professor Trelawney stumbled her way into the room, the meeting started.

"So I am sure that all of you have a few students that you wish to discuss, but I would like to talk about one student in particular first," Dumbledore explained.

"I'm guessing that that would be Harold, Albus?" McGonagall questioned.

"Yes Minerva, young Mr. Harold has created quite the shock for the school and the students themselves. Many parents are wondering how a child who has had no formal education can surpass those that attend the finest school for witchcraft and wizardry in Britain. I myself am wondering that, for what would the reason for coming here be, if it is not to learn? I fear that he might have ulterior motives," Dumbledore suggested.

Many of the teachers were silent as they reflected about the mysterious young man that had suddenly dropped into their lives. However, when someone spoke in defense of Harold, it was the last person they expected, "I agree with you Headmaster, it does seem as though the boy has other reasons for being here," Snape informed, "However, I do not think he is… _detrimental_ to the student's welfare. Because of this, I do not think that you have any jurisdiction on what he plans to do here."

While Dumbledore was originally nodding his head at Snape's assessment, he soon looked at his Potions Master in shock, never thinking that he could actually care for the boy's welfare. Nobody in the room in fact thought that Snape had it in his capacity to care for others outside of Slytherin. Many began to wonder what Harold had done to earn the feared Potion Master's respect.

"I have seen the boy myself with the other students, and might I say that he brings out the best in each and every one of them. He helps those that aren't even his friends! Some might even be considered his enemies! Why, just the other day, I saw him _purposefully_ sit next to a 5th year Slytherin in my Arithmancy class _and_ help him the entire period," Professor Babbling announced, proud of her favorite student's kindness.

Everyone was shocked to hear this news as well, with each of the Professor's beginning to analyze all of Harold's actions since entering Hogwarts. Needless to say, the only ones that still weren't convinced of Harold's good intentions were Umbridge and Dumbledore, but for entirely different reasons.

After hearing positive reports from all of Harold's teachers, except for Umbridge of course, Dumbledore had no choice but to drop the issue with his staff. However, this did not keep him from plotting against the boy, willing to do whatever was necessary to show him the light. _His_ light. It was, after all, for the Greater Good.

Saturday September 16, 1995

Harold had been at Hogwarts for _two_ weeks and he still had not made one friend in Slytherin. Not one! _How can they expect to be treated differently if all they do is ignore the actually decent people?_ Harold wondered.

Moving his thoughts to the door he was facing, his body gave an involuntary shudder, cringing at the thought of what he was about to do.

 _I'm seriously going to regret this. It's a Hogsmeade weekend and I'm spending it_ here _of all places._

Walking through the door for the first time in two weeks, Harold found himself in a different room than the "dance studio" that it had originally been. Now, it resembled a normal living room for a typically family of three. A very familiar family of three. _My family, Harold choked._

As he began to turn his back to the room, tears began to form in his eyes. _This was a HUGE mistake,_ he thought. Suddenly however, he felt the soft grip of woman's hand around his wrist.

"Harold," the woman whispered, "I would like to apologize for my actions earlier. I have not grown… _accustomed_ to speaking to others. After all, I _have_ been a castle for all of my life."

Harold gave an involuntary chuckle at her words, wondering what _that_ must have been like.

"I now know that I shouldn't have said what I said, so, would you please forgive me? Although I've only talked to a person once in over a thousand years, I already miss it…"

Anything else that "Lily" could have said was cut off as Harold hugged her for all she was worth. "I understand," he whispered hoarsely, tears freely flowing down his face now, "Just don't pull that crap again."

After another couple minutes of apologizing, the two spent the remainder of the afternoon learning about one another. "Lily" learned how intrusive using Legilimency was without asking, and Harold learned that asking a lady her age, even if she was a castle, was still considered rude.

Neither noticed the time until it was well past midnight. The two "departed" soon after, each promising to spend more time with the other in the coming weeks.

Sunday September 17, 1995

On a bright and sunny Hogsmeade weekend, the students of Hogwarts found themselves once again occupied with many different fun and exciting activities. _It looks so nice outside,_ Harold thought, _So how the hell did I let Hermione drag me to_ this _?_

On this bright and sunny day, Harold somehow found himself sitting with Hermione and Neville in the corner of a bar called the Hog's Head, waiting for many of the fifth year students to join them.

"Hermione," Harold sighed.

"Yes?" questioned the young woman.

"Later, you and I are going to have a discussion on what a huge waste of time this was."

Just then, the door burst open, admitting several Hogwarts students ranging from fourth to seventh year. While this might not be strange in any other building in Hogsmeade, it was a strange sight in the dingy bar that only attracted the worst of customers.

"You better be buyin' some drinks while yer here!" the bartender shouted.

"Of course!" one of the Weasley twins affirmed, "Everyone pass some money up for Butterbeer."

 _Ughhh not these two,_ Harold groaned.

As soon as Hermione saw that everyone had gotten a dusty and slightly grimy Butterbeer, found a good seat, and were ready to listen, she cleared her throat to gain everyone's attention.

"I've asked you all here for one reason and one reason only," she informed, "We need someone who can teach us defensive magic."

Murmurs of agreement were common amongst the crowd, while Harold narrowed his eyes at Hermione and her train of thought. _Oh that sly girl… Getting me here so that I can't refuse or risk half of the 5_ _th_ _year population on my arse. She's more Slytherin than I thought,_ Harold praised _._

"So, seeing as how we need someone with _experience_ to teach us to defend ourselves from the coming threat, I've asked Harold to come here to see if he wanted the position."

All eyes in the room turned to Harold, most of them pleading with him to say yes.

 _If she's gonna pull this, I'm gonna have at least_ some _fun with it._

"The coming threat? And what would that be _Hermione?"_ Harold inquired with an innocent look of confusion on his face.

"Voldemort," Neville stated simply.

Everyone in the crowd gave a gasp of fear, with some even shrieking in terror.

Harold rolled his eyes, _Bunch of wimps,_ he thought, noticing that at least _his_ friends only gave a wince in response to the dreaded name. _Looks like all of those talks on the Dark Poofter paid off,_ he thought giddily, remembering the time that he gathered every single one of his friends and made his position on the war and Voldemort known.

"How do we know that he's back?" a random person asked, voice quivering in fear of the Dark Lord.

"Because Neville and Dumbledore say he's back!" a Weasley twin shouted.

"So what? The Daily Prophet says tha-" the person argued.

"Oh will you please just SHUT UP already."

Everyone once again turned to Harold who had a rather irritated look on his face.

"Look, I don't care what you believe, if you aren't a total jackass and want to learn how defend yourself, I'll teach you. However, this _has_ to stay between us. I don't want everyone and their grandmothers coming to me to teach them a _Protego_ charm. Those at risk of being attacked personally should seriously consider this offer. It's the only one that you're going to get."

Everyone was silent before Justin jokingly asked, "Sooo, where do I sign?"

Hermione quickly rummaged through her bag before pulling out a sheet of muggle paper and a pen. After explaining how the pen worked to some of the purebloods, a line formed to sign the document, which stated that the group was to be kept secret so as to prevent everyone from joining right off the bat. Harold walked up to her and whispered, "You are so going to owe me for this."

Hermione shivered slightly, and simply nodded her head, pleased with herself for succeeding in her task.

Later that afternoon, the school was surprised to see Filch nailing something to the wall, right above the Great Hall. When he was done, some gasped at the document that hung proudly above all, while others whispered in confusion at what this meant for the future.

 **PROCLAMATION**

 **EDUCATIONAL DECREE NO. 23**

 **DOLORES JANE UMBRIDGE**

 **HAS BEEN**

 **APPOINTED TO**

 **THE POST OF**

 **HOGWARTS**

 **HIGH**

 **INQUISITOR**

Tuesday September 19, 1995

After many attempts at conversation, Harold finally got a response from Blaise, the black boy that he had met on his first day. Although it was only a polite 'Hello' at the beginning of class, it was definitely better than nothing.

Harold now found himself getting bolder in his attempts and asked with a mask of true curiosity on his face, "So is it true that all Slytherins only wear green and silver thongs under their school robes?"

Blaise gave an involuntary chuckle and whispered, "Only if your name is Draco Malfoy."

"Ohh, he speaks! I don't know if you know this, but I've been trying to talk to you every single day since I got here."

"I've noticed. It's quite annoying actually," Blaise drawled.

"Yeah well, you know me. Trying to break down social barriers that have existed longer than we've lived isn't exactly easy," Harold chuckled.

Blaise stared at Harold for a few moments, trying to find something that only he knew before asking, "Why?"

Harold's carefree expression turned dark with sadness before bitterly replying, "Because someone has to do it."

The two didn't talk for the rest of the period.

As Harold sat down by Hermione for dinner, he whispered in her ear, "Why didn't you tell me today was your birthday?"

Hermione looked at him in shock before slowly replying, "Because I've never had a decent birthday before. I haven't told anyone here. Not even Neville or… I've just tried to forget all about it. I normally try to stay in my room all day, but I got dragged out by my roommates."

"Well now that just won't do," Harold chided, "Tell you what, how about I show you a little place that I've happened to stumble upon. It might just be perfect for turning this crappy routine into a spectacular one."

And with that being said, Harold grabbed Hermione's arm and escorted her up to the seventh floor.

"Now, I haven't told anyone this so you'll be the first to know, but I found a secret room that no one else knows about. I discovered it on my second day, and I just found out another way in."

As they reached the stretch of wall opposite a portrait of Barnabas the Barmy attempting to teach trolls the delicate art of ballet, Harold told Hermione to close her eyes.

"Now," he whispered in her ear, "I want you to pace three times past this wall and think about something that you desperately want. Can you do that for me?"

At Hermione's nod, he led her past the stretch of wall three times, until finally, a door appeared.

"Open your eyes."

And open them she did.

"What? How is this possi-"

"Don't over think it. Come on, I wanna see what you wished for," Harold chuckled, holding Hermione's hand again as he led her through the door.

Inside, they found themselves on a grassy hill in the middle of a park with the sun shining high in the sky. A picnic basket and a blanket lay on the hill, inviting them to sit and eat.

Hermione ran to the blanket and sat down, opening the basket, but was disappointed to find nothing in it.

"The room can't create food. Trust me, I've tried," Harold explained.

"But what is this place?" Hermione asked.

"Rather than tell you, I'll show you. Do you trust me?"

Hermione gave Harold a nod in confirmation before he sat down next to her and looked deeply into her eyes. Hermione blushed, wondering what Harold was doing before she felt a strange pressure in the back of her head.

Harold was taught that mind magic could be used in a variety of different ways, and was not solely for defending or "reading" the mind. Using Darius' teachings, Harold _gave_ Hermione _his_ memories instead of _taking_ them from _her_ , letting her see a modified version of his first visit to the room. He excluded any information that was considered confidential, only letting her see "Lily's" explanation of the room and herself.

After a few moments of silence with Hermione trying to process all of the information, she quietly asked, "Who was that woman supposed to look like?"

"My mother," he explained.

"Oh," she stated simply, not wanting to press the issue further.

"So," Harold started, looking for a distraction from a conversation that he did _not_ want to have at the moment, "what was this place supposed to be? What did you wish for?"

Hermione blushed again and took several moments to respond before explaining, "I wished for a date with you."

"Oh," he croaked.

The two sat in uncomfortable silence for several more minutes, stealing looks at one another, then blushing and looking away.

 _Oh fuck it._

Harold gently pulled Hermione's head close to his own, awkwardly locking his lips with hers.

The kiss was… decent. Not absolutely mind-blowing, but not completely dreadful either.

After a couple of seconds, Harold pulled back to see Hermione looking at him with a mixture of shock and dare he say it, bliss.

"Happy birthday," he whispered, voice rising ever so slightly.

"Um, thanks?" she said, not really sure how to respond.

Both quickly got up and left the room, neither wanting to know what the kiss meant for their relationship.

Saturday September 23, 1995

After a few days of awkwardness between the pair, Harold finally decided that enough was enough and cornered Hermione after breakfast.

"Look, I haven't exactly been around kids my age for a long time and I'm afraid that I messed up," he stated, not really liking how awkward the confession was, but wanting to keep his friendship with Hermione even more. "We don't have to start dating all of a sudden. In fact, I don't really _want_ to. I don't really think that I'm.. that… _ready_ for it," he finished lamely.

"Harold," Hermione clarified, "It's… okay. I think that we both got a bit… ahead of ourselves. Let's just go back to how it was before, okay?"

"Sure. Yeah, of course," Harold replied, relieved that he didn't ruin his friendship with such an incredible girl.

The two walked together for a while, trying to decide the best time for the first meeting of their "study group."

Sunday September 24, 1995

Harold and Hermione decided that Sunday was the perfect day to have their first "study group" session, telling everyone involved to go to the 7th floor corridor after lunch, going five at a time so as to not raise suspicion. Umbridge's job as High Inquisitor gave her powers over the other teachers, and it was only a matter of time before she got power over the students.

After 30 minutes of different groups arriving, Harold decided to get the meeting underway.

"So, first order of business, we need a name," he explained.

"Um… don't we need a leader?" an Asian girl in Ravenclaw asked.

"That's obvious. It has to be Harold!"

"What about Neville?"

"Don't forget Hermione!"

"Okay okay!" Harold shouted, trying to focus everyone's attention back to the task at hand, "Let's just put it to a vote. Everyone who wants Hermione as leader, go into that corner, everyone for Neville go there, and everyone for me stay here."

Needless to say, Harold got the majority.

"So I guess that decides that. Now, a name. Any suggestions?"

"How about the Defense Association? The D.A. for short? That way we can discuss it without anyone else knowing what we're talking about," the Asian girl suggested.

"I like the D.A., but what if we made it Dumbledore's Army? We can all at least agree that it's what the Ministry fears most," a redheaded girl that looked vaguely familiar proposed.

"That's perfect!" Hermione shouted, "All for Dumbledore's Army?"

Everyone raised their hand to that. Everyone except Harold, who was holding his sides laughing.

"Dumbledore's Army?" he asked, "Are you all really that thick?"

Many people looked at Harold in confusion, while others grew angry at the insult.

"Oh yeah? And what's your idea oh great leader?" the redhead retorted.

Harold began to laugh again, much to the redhead's irritation.

"What, pray tell, are you all going to do if Umbridge finds _that_ sheet of paper with all of your names on it saying _Dumbledore's Freakin' Army_ written at the top? It's completely mental!" Harold chided.

The girl looked down in embarrassment as she agreed with that possibility.

"We'll go with the Defense Association for now. And I'll keep the paper on me so that Umbridge doesn't find it. But in the off chance that she does, I'll spell it to look like a list of ingredients for a potion or something. Deal?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Good. Now, the disarming charm. Easy, efficient, and for some reason, cannot be properly aimed…"

After the first D.A. meeting ended, the red headed girl, as well as Susan, Anthony, Terry, Hermione and Neville all stayed in the room with Harold.

"Harold, this is Ginny Weasley, also known as the girl that you just brutally embarrassed in front of the entire study group," Hermione introduced, scowling slightly at her best friend's rudeness.

"Hello Ginny," Harold replied with a beaming smile on his face, "I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

Ginny gave Harold a once over and rolled her eyes. She whispered something into Hermione's ear that left the girl blushing madly before leaving.

"I take it she doesn't like me?" Harold mused.

"Well you did pull that stunt in front of _everyone_ ," Susan lightly scolded, casually swatting his arm in mock anger.

"Harold's rudeness aside, I think that this session was great. Thank you for taking the time to teach us oh wise one," Anthony mocked, as he bowed towards Harold.

"Yeah yeah whatever," Harold grumbled, rubbing the back of his head as the others laughed at his discomfort from being praised so highly, "Let's just go and eat some dinner."

As the group walked out of the room and down to the Great Hall for dinner, they spotted a large crowd gathering around the entrance.

"What the hell is it now?" Harold sighed.

 **PROCLAMATION**

 **EDUCATIONAL DECREE NO. 24**

 **ALL STUDENT ORGINIZATIONS**

 **ARE HENSEFORTH**

 **DISBANDED**

 **ANY STUDENT IN**

 **NONCOMPLIANCE**

 **WILL BE**

 **EXPELLED**

"Oh what the fuck!?" Harold exclaimed, smacking his hand to his forehead.

 **Author's Note:**

 **So I just realized that I was using the wrong calendar! Lemme shoot myself now. I switched it to the 1995 calendar, but the beginning chapters stay. Forgive me? Okay.**

 **Shorter chapter, I know but don't kill me! Monday you'll get an extra long one as comp.**

 **Now if the reason that you want to kill me is because of the epic failure that was H/Hr in that scene. All I can do is laugh, as I had that planned for a while now.**

 **If there was any confusion, let me know. Some of you might notice that I used the exact wording that the movies used for their Edcuational Decrees. I did it cause I liked their wording of it. That's not mine obviously, so disclaimer? Is that how those work? Most of this chapter was a bit hard to get out, hence the shortness of it.**

 **Anyways, big thanks to Harry Potter Wikia for the info!**

 **Big shoutout to lupo6, UrbanLeviathan, TheGhost75 and Brackenfern for following since Day 1! I don't even know you and yet I'm very greatful to you guys for sacrificing your time to sit down and read my story.**

 **To all of the new followers, thanks a bunch and I hope that I can continue to make you proud!**

 **And a huge thanks to all of you guys for reading! I would literally be nothing without you guys!**

 **Just got a review asking why nobody has recognized Harold yet. I thought that I already stated "who" he looks like more. It might have been a bit too subtle however. Don't worry, I'll put that in next chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7: Nail Clippers

Chapter 7: Nail Clippers and How to Use Them

Monday September 25, 1995

By Monday morning, almost every single student that was a part of the D.A. was freaking out, wondering how they would plan their meetings, as Umbridge would never let them continue.

As soon as he could, Harold gathered Susan, Hannah, Terry, Anthony, Hermione and Neville in the library, to explain what they would proceed to do moving forward.

"Alright, here is the plan. From this point out, the group meetings are cancelled," Harold explained.

Shouts of outrage came from everyone except Hermione, who had already known of the new plan beforehand.

"Shut up!" Harold barked, instantly silencing the other teenagers, "I didn't say that I would stop teaching you, I just said that we wouldn't have big meetings."

"But then how are we going to learn if we don't have our meetings?" Hannah inquired.

"I'm going to personally tutor each and every one of you. And then you're going to demonstrate what you learned to your housemates. We'll work on a two on one system. Why do you think that I asked you guys specifically for this job? It's not just because I trust you all the most. You are all well-known and liked within your houses. People _will_ listen to you."

The others were silent as they tried to comprehend the work that they would have to do in the future.

"Alright, I'm in," Susan agreed.

After everyone confirmed their involvement, Harold started to explain to them the basics of a standard defense and what they had to watch for in an enemy. None of them noticed the redhead that watched them from the shadows.

Wednesday September 27, 1995

Harold decided to start his lessons with Susan and Hannah first, and dragged them to the Room of Requirement after classes were finished.

"Alright, we can start with some basic combinations to put enemies out of a fight. This is essential for defense, and might even be your 'bread and butter' so to speak. It's a blindness spell, body bind, and stunner combo," Harold informed.

After showing them the combination's effect on an enemy that the room created, he let them practice the spells, watching for any mistakes.

"No Hannah, you're flourishing your wand too much. Make sharper movements and you'll get it," he encouraged.

After watching Susan carefully, Harold began to notice that she was a bit more precise in her movements that Hannah was.

Seeing how impressed Harold was, she blushed a bit and explained, "My aunt is the Head of the DMLE. She has been tutoring me since I was 5 to defend myself. Although she isn't as good of a teacher as you are Harold."

"Why thank you Ms. Bones," he acknowledged, giving her a low and dramatic bow.

Susan gave Hannah a wink while Hannah gave her a suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

After an hour of practice, the trio decided that they would head downstairs to have dinner together. Susan walked much closer to Harold than Hannah did, questioning him about his day and what they would do for their next lesson.

Thursday September 28, 1995

Today, Harold decided to work with Terry and Anthony, much to the two boy's excitement.

"What're we gonna learn first? Stunners? Or how about cutting hexes? I found this spell in this book tha-" Anthony rambled.

"Stop," Harold interrupted, raising his hand for silence.

"We'll go over a basic combination for incapacitating an enemy. It's a blindness spell followed by a body bind and then a stunner. Watch how I do it."

Harold took out his "wand" and showed them the movements for each spell, performing them slowly so as to make sure that they knew each precise motion.

"Now, do you want to see what you could look like if you master it?"

At the two boy's nod, Harold summoned an enemy that looked suspiciously like a Death Eater. Using his "wand," Harold quickly had the enemy blinded, bound and stunned in a less than a second.

"That," Harold boasted, "Is what you could do if you practice hard."

Naturally, the two practiced as hard as they could.

Friday September 29, 1995

After hearing about his previous lessons, Hermione and Neville were unusually giddy the lunch before their first session.

"Did you really do what Anthony said? Blind, bind and stun a dummy in less than a second?" Neville questioned.

"Of course. I'll show you how to do it too. First we'll work on the actual spells themselves, then we'll work on speed and accuracy," Harold assured.

Later in the Room, Harold noticed that while Hermione's spellwork was both precise and accurate, it lacked in power. However, Neville was the exact opposite, having almost as much magical power as Harold did, but lacked the precision that Hermione had.

 _This is perfect,_ Harold commented, _These two would be able to help each other immensely, as they complement one another brilliantly._

"Hermione, your precision and accuracy are great, but your power behind your spells is lacking a bit. Is there something wrong?"

"No… at least, I don't think so. I'm just trying to conserve as much energy as possible," she explained.

"Ahhh see that's it. In a long fight, it is indeed best to conserve one's energy and let the opponent waste all of theirs. But I think you already know how to do that, no?"

"Well of course," she said.

"But, this isn't a fight. You _have_ to put more power into your spells now, so that if you ever come to the point where you need to handle your opponent quickly, you can do so by overpowering them. You need to find a balance."

"So what should I do?" Hermione asked.

"Spend half of the hour practicing the spells while conserving your energy as much as you can while still getting the job done, and then the other half on full power. Magic is like a muscle, so treat this almost like a magical workout," he suggested.

"Now, Neville. You have the exact opposite problem of Hermione. You have a lot of power. Almost as much as me in fact. But you need to learn control. I think that you both would work well as training partners. Hermione could teach you how to control your magic, while you can show her how to use more of it. It's perfect," Harold explained with a grin.

Neville looked at Harold in disbelief, _There's no way that I have as much power as Harold… is there? But what about…_

Neville was brought out of his thought process with a stinging hex from Harold.

"Think about all of the universe's problems later Boy-Wonder. Right now, I wanna see you practice the combo over and over until it's second nature."

The trio began to work again, going past the time that the other sessions had and decided to eat dinner together afterwards.

None of them noticed a certain redhead that lurked in the corner, forming a plan that would show the whole school how much better he was than _Harold_.

Tuesday October 31, 1995

Harold woke up with a groan, body aching as it desperately tried to adjust to his 'Lightning Step.' Choosing a name for the ability wasn't as difficult as he had thought, but the real difficulty was in mastering it. He could now do it _twice_ for three seconds without any physical duress and three times if _absolutely necessary_ , although, as he was discovering now, he was definitely going to feel the pain in the morning.

As he walked over to his bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror, he began to notice the changes that he had gone through since arriving at Hogwarts.

His body was still as slender as ever, proudly displaying a toned physique that was much like that of a lean runner. His hair, that which was usually straight and short, was now chin length and had started to look like _his._ Harold quickly adjusted this by putting his hair in a stylish ponytail, spelling the hair tie to be unbreakable so as to not create suspicion of being _him._

Harold stroked the stubble that had grown on his chin, remembering the time that he decided to leave his old life behind.

 _Thursday October 31, 1985_

 _Two figures sat by an old oak tree in a park filled with children._

 _One of the two, a small boy of 5 years, looked to have something on his mind, but was afraid to voice his concern._

 _The other, a man who looked to be in his late twenties, knew of the boy's conflict, but was unable to figure out how to help._

 _Suddenly, the boy gathered his courage and asked, "Why don't I look like you?"_

 _Whatever the man was thinking that the child would ask, it was definitely not that._

 _The man sighed and wearily thought,_ This was going to happen one of these days.

" _It's because you're not my biological son," he stated simply, as if talking about the weather._

 _The boy looked down in thought for several minutes, making the other figure fidget nervously in his spot, waiting for his response._

" _But I want to be," he replied._

 _Darius looked at Harold in shock before clearing his throat, "You don't really know what that implies kid. I think that we should have this discussion when you're olde-"_

" _No," he demanded, "I want to be your son."_

 _Darius simply nodded, not trusting his voice at the moment._

" _Alright kid, I know a way to make you look like me. But it will take some time, okay?"_

Back in the bathroom, Harold ran his fingers over his face, seemingly searching for something that only he knew.

"Now I truly do look like your son," he whispered, remembering the process that even now was still in effect, changing his features ever so slightly throughout the years. It would finally be done by next year. By that time, the only thing that he will have as a link to his past self will be his eyes. But those were never the same anyways.

The silver that once lined the edges was now a quarter of the way to completely taking over his eye. _I wonder what will happen when it's done. Darius never truly explained it._

Stepping away from the mirror, he went into the shower to ease his aching body with the heat of the water.

As he absently washed himself, Harold thought about the past month and what it had brought. He had grown closer to all of his friends, but he mainly found that his friendship with Susan, Hermione, and surprisingly, Neville had the most development.

 _Who would have known that I would become best friends with the 'Boy-Who-Lived?'_ Harold mused.

After their initial fiasco, Harold and Hermione both decided that if they were ever going to date, it would be in the future, when they were both prepared to that step for their relationship.

Susan however, was another story. After weeks of skirting around one another, she had to ask _him_ on a date to Hogsmeade, which they both enjoyed immensely.

 _I wonder if this makes us a couple… eh, I'll let her decide. I'm ready for whatever she has in store for us._

Another notable development was how people in the three 'good' houses were much friendlier to Harold, knowing that he was the true leader of the organization that let anyone who was willing learn defensive magic. Now, three-quarters of the school were practically in love with him.

Umbridge was beginning to get more and more desperate in finding out about the rumored study group. Unfortunately for her, the 'study group' wasn't even a group, so she didn't have it in her power to disband it in the first place. There was also the tiny fact that 2/3 of the school supported the 'group' and learned from it.

Last week, the Slytherin that he had met in Ancient Runes, Zabini as he liked to be called, had introduced him to two other Slytherins, Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis.

Although he had the feeling that Daphne didn't like him too much, Tracey and him had instantly connected and often talked in private whenever they could. Although, whenever they saw him in public, they completely ignored him. They did have an image to maintain after all.

Feeling refreshed and better than he did the night before, Harold decided that he had showered long enough, drying himself off as he went to his room to prepare for the day.

As he wiped the droplets of water off of his chest, he instantly felt as if something was wrong. Someone was in his room.

Acting as if he were about to pick up a pair of pants, he instantly used his 'Lightning Step' and summoned _Higure,_ pressing the blade against the person's throat.

"Who the fuck are you and how did you get here!" he roared, eyes glowing silver, ripping the ridiculous hood that the figure foolishly thought could hide their identity.

As soon as he saw who it was, he instantly backed up and gave an irritated sigh, "You know better than to sneak up on me. What are you doing here?"

"Lily" was massaging her throat, thinking back to the almost primal fear that she felt at being at the end of that blade, _I must be getting more human than I thought,_ she worried.

"I came to tell you that I found it."

Harold's irritated expression quickly turned to that of a kid in a candy store before asking, "Really? Where is it? And why did it take you this long?"

"Calm down," she lightly scolded, "It was right under our noses the whole time. As for why it took me so long, the magic that he used was so simple, I overlooked it entirely. I hate the bastard as much as you do, but you can't deny, Riddle was a smart one."

"Pff whatever, he'll be a dead one soon enough."

"Yeah yeah, let's just destroy the damn thing okay? You have quite the day ahead of you," "Lily" informed.

"Oh really? Are you a Seer now? Trelawney should be careful; her job might be taken right out from under her," Harold joked.

"Lily" swatted Harold's arm, and after he had finished changing, led him to the Room and to the diadem.

 _One more down, two more to go_.

At breakfast, Harold sat with Hermione and Neville, as the trio talked about what they had planned for the day. As usual, on Halloween, all of the classes were canceled so that the children could enjoy their day. Well, most of them anyways.

Instead of enjoying the day like everyone else, Neville was busy sulking. Seeing this and instantly knowing why, Harold told all of his friends to meet him at the Room for the day, telling them that he had a very special surprise for them. _I'm going to make this a Halloween that you'll never forget Neville,_ he promised, _Just you wait and see._

When everyone but Harold was gathered at the entrance, a loud voice boomed, "Enter… if you dare."

What the group found inside was definitely not what they were expecting.

A huge haunted house, about the size of a manor, stood tall and foreboding, both inviting and discouraging them to come inside.

Susan and Hannah instantly squealed with delight and rushed up to it, hand in hand. Hermione went behind them, determined to show her Gryffindor bravery, but not wanting to be first in line. The boys on the other hand looked at the house with a mixture of fear and awe, both wanting to prove their manliness but also terrified of what lay inside.

After running from blood seeking vampires and terrifying ghouls and ghosts, the group ended the tour in what seemed to be another area entirely.

Trees upon trees stood proudly on tall hills in a forest filled with fog as thick as molasses. A full moon hung over the area, covering the environment in an eerie glow.

"Harold?" Hermione whispered. At least, it was meant to be a whisper, but it seemed to cut through the silence that they had found themselves in, reverberating around them in an echo.

Suddenly, a loud howl was heard, echoing over everything and filling the group with an unintentional feeling of dread.

"Holy shit!" Anthony shouted, pointing at a large grey wolf with silver eyes that almost pierced through one's very soul.

Everyone gave a gasp as the wolf began to race towards them, looking as if it could tear them to pieces.

"Run!" Neville needlessly shouted, grabbing Hannah's arm and racing away from the oncoming wolf.

The group ran through the forest aimlessly, trying desperately to get away from the large predator.

A loud scream could be heard as the wolf latched itself onto Neville and pinned him to the ground, growling at the boy and warning him to not make any movement. The group stilled as they waited to see what would become of their friend who seemed to fear for his very life.

It was as if a switch had been flipped, when the wolf's threatening expression suddenly turned to an almost humorous one as he licked Neville's face.

Everyone was deeply confused until suddenly, the wolf had quickly morphed into a familiar raven haired boy.

"Ugh, Harold!" Neville shouted, irritated and feeling very foolish for thinking that his friend has sent a wolf on him, "What the _hell_ man?!"

Harold was too busy laughing his ass off as the others in the group chuckled nervously, thankful that they were not about to get eaten alive, but also extremely pissed off at their friend.

The only one who wasn't laughing was Hermione, who had an excited look on her face before blurting, "When were you going to tell us you're an Animagus?"

By this point, Harold had gained some control over himself, grinning roguishly before he replied, "Uhhh now?"

After everyone had calmed down from their latest near death experience, Harold asked the Room to change to an area that looked suspiciously like the place that Hermione and him had had their first date.

This time however, Harold opened the picnic basket and found it to be filled with food, as they had missed lunch for the haunted house experience.

"I thought you said that the room couldn't create food," Hermione asked, irritated that it could all of a sudden.

"It can't," Harold reassured, "I asked a house elf to bring it. I finally found the kitchens last week and spent 20 minutes thanking them for all of the food that they prepare us with. Now I'm like their god or something."

"I guess it's alright if you thanked them for the food…" Hermione pondered, thinking much too hard on the subject.

"Anyways, I brought you all here for a reason other than scaring you senseless, and I think it's time we get to it."

Instantly, everyone perked up at this news, wondering if he was going to show them some cool new spell or teach them how to become Animagi.

Harold turned to Neville and softly said, "I'm sorry Neville. I know what this day means for you and I'm sorry that the Dark Bastard took them away from you."

 _Wait… where did that come from_ , most of them thought, while Hermione looked at Harold with understanding slowly appearing on her face.

Neville was silent for a while, with a dark expression on his face before whispering, "Thank you."

Satisfied with himself, Harold carefully explained what today meant for his friend, knowing full well what it felt like as he had felt the same for many a year.

In the end, everyone understood and silently praised their friend for his bravery, as while everyone else saw this day as a holiday, celebrating the end of the war and Voldemort; he saw it as the day he lost his family.

Later at dinner, the group decided to sit together in support of their friend, filling the Gryffindor table with their laughter and show of companionship.

No one seemed to protest, as everyone knew how close the seven were. That would no longer be the case when Ronald walked in and saw the group, laughing uproariously at a joke that Harold had hear in Rome when he had visited.

 _It's finally time,_ Ronald thought, _All those weeks of planning will finally come to fruition, and Neville will be my friend again._

Taking out his brand new wand that he spent hours convincing his mother to get him, he shouted, "Harold!"

Everyone in the hall turned to see the redhead, who before this year looked to be lean and a bit muscular, was now a ghost of his former self with pale skin and sunken eyes that had a slightly glazed look in them.

"I'm going to show everyone that I am the better wizard and am the only one to deserve to call the Boy-Who-Lived his best friend!" Ronald maniacally cackled, swishing his wand as he detonated dozens of traps that he had set earlier.

Dozens of random sharp things, ranging from swords to pieces of torn armor flew at the unsuspecting boy, threatening to maim him in a very disturbing fashion.

 _Are those… nail clippers?_ Harold thought, before he was impaled from all sides.

Blood splattered everywhere, as all of the projectiles found their mark. Susan and Hermione were flung back and away from harm by Dumbledore, who had a furious expression on his face.

Ronald's shout of triumph cut through the silence that filled the hall at the thought of ending the boy who had been a thorn in his side for _two months._

Susan and Hermione sat there, shocked beyond belief at the thought of losing the young man who meant so much to them in such a fashion. Everyone's eyes switched from Ronald to Harold's dead body, minds incapable of processing what just happened.

Suddenly, Hannah cried out and everyone's minds clicked into place at what just winessed.

 _No.. no… no,no,no,no,no,_ Hermione repeatedly thought, not believing that Harold could truly be gone.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Neville shouted, with an intense look of hatred on his face.

Dumbledore strode over to Ronald, wearing that same furious expression, with thoughts of giving him a stern talking to and taking away house points for murdering another student, when Harold decided to make his presence known by rushing forward with his 'Lightning Step' and decapitating Ronald.

Once again, blood was spilled in the hall.

If one had just walked in, they would see a boy with a large sharp katana coated and dripping with blood. Looking further, they would see a room filled with shocked faces, not knowing what was happening.

Their silence was a testament to the fact that they had just witnessed an attempted murder and a boy being killed for it.

Those who had not already lost their dinner were now stooped to side, throwing up everything that they had in their stomachs.

Harold wore a blank expression on his face, holding _Higure_ threateningly before shouting, "Who the fuck did this?!"

Everyone's eyes widened in shock as they shrunk away in fear, not trusting their voices to work.

Harold's gaze swept the hall, searching for any signs of guilt before returning to Dumbledore and whispering, "Someone cast the Imperious curse on this foolish boy. It must have been going on for weeks now. Although it's sad to say, he is better off now than he was before."

"How could you say that!" Dumbledore roared, "You just murdered an innocent boy in cold blood!"

"I do _not_ take lives lightly Albus Dumbledore!" Harold spat, furious at the man's short sightedness, "And he was _hardly_ innocent. You know just as well as I do that the Imperious curse cannot work properly if the target has never wanted to do the action that he is commanded to do!"

"Be that as it may, you still killed him! You could have easily incapacitated him with the powers that you just displayed. I will have no choice but to hand you over to the authorities!"

"Are you blind old man? That was self-defense! I have hundreds of witnesses who would gladly report what actually happened, instead of some crack pot old fool's allegations based on his foolish ideals. I'll be glad to tell the authorities that you saved the lives of my two best friends without even caring for my own! You could have easily saved us all, or are you not the great wizard that everyone thinks you are?" Harold raged, questioning Dumbledore's actions in front of everyone.

Although most of the students were still in shock, many of them voiced their support for Harold, seeing with their own eyes exactly what happened, starting from Ronald's glazed look, to Dumbledore's inaction in Harold's safety.

Seeing that he was not going to win this fight, Dumbledore growled, actually _growled_ , at Harold and swept from the hall.

Hermione and Susan ran up to Harold, quickly enveloping him in a fierce hug, holding him for all he was worth. Both sobbed into his robes, thankful that he was still alive.

"While I do not agree with your methods Harold, I do think that they were, however unfortunate it might sound, _necessary,"_ McGonagall observed, both furious that one of her lions could think of the _possibility_ of murdering another, and saddened by the need for his end.

 _Could you find whoever did this and tell me immediately?_ Harold asked "Lily."

After a few seconds of nothing, a warm feeling flooded his senses in confirmation of his request.

 _Thanks._

Nobody noticed Umbridge watching from the corner, who was planning use this incident against Dumbledore _and_ the brat. It was just matter of when and how. Maybe she should get into contact with those Death Eaters that approached her earlier in the year. Their cause, after all, was a necessary one.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Whhaaaaattt? Yeah that segment was originally going to be a joke and I laughed at that scene for literally a good ten minutes before deciding, you know what? Fuck it, I'm going to do it.**

 **So, Harold and Susan. Bet you didn't see that coming! :) I wanted most of this chapter to be like a slap to the face, and I had actually originally wanted this to be a HP/SB story, but then said no and made the pairings optional as romance is just not my thing, but now I'm like Harold needs someone who isn't Hermione right now as I had mentioned before, they are still not ready for one another quite yet.**

 **Ronald's scene was made to be sudden and out of the blue, as I tried to make the reader feel like those in the story, having no idea what was going on until the end. Hopefully you understand now, and if you don't, ask!**

 **I also now have 50 followers! Yessssss. With a goal of getting 100 and already being halfway there. That is amazing. Thank you guys so much!**

 **Also, sorry for this not being longer. Some things came up and you know. Life happens. Expect regular updates this week and none on Sundays.**


	8. Chapter 8: Aftermath or

Chapter 8: Aftermath... or... Why Can't You Pick Up Girls During a Duel?

Tuesday November 14, 1995

Two weeks after the incident, most of the school, in a surprising show of support, accepted Harold's actions and denied Dumbledore the right to start an investigation, lest he bring up his own misdeeds. The students of Hogwarts told no one, for fear of getting Harold into trouble, but some still shied away from him, fearing his powers and what they could do. But that was to be expected.

Two weeks after the incident and "Lily" had still not found who had committed the crime, much to the irritation of Harold. Whoever it was, they knew how to cover their tracks well.

Two weeks after the incident, and many of Harold's friends had finally come around, after having originally been wary of him.

Two weeks after the incident, and Harold suddenly found himself cornered by Ginny Weasley in an empty hallway.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" she asked, irritation clearly shown in her face.

"Um… you know why," Harold lamely replied, dreading how this conversation would end.

 _She_ is _a good friend to Hermione. Or_ was _I should say. They haven't talked since_ that day.

"No actually, I don't."

Harold tried to come up with the right words that would explain his reasoning, but found no such way. So, he put it bluntly and simply stated, "I killed your brother."

Ginny sighed and leaned against the wall, eyes closed in thought.

"I know. But it _was_ self-defense right? …Right?" she replied, searching for an answer in his face.

Harold gave her a look that clearly meant _What do you think?_

"I'm not going to hold it against you. All I wanted to say is that I forgive you. Now, would you please tell Hermione that she can stop avoiding me? I need my friend…" she whispered.

"Of course, sure," Harold answered.

xxxXXXxxx

Wednesday November 15. 1995

 _Dear 'Spidey',_

 _I have no idea how Dumbledore could have been so foolish as to not realize that one of his students was under the Imperius! Thankfully your training prevented you from any harm, otherwise those bastards wouldn't live to see another day._

 _I've decided to write to you after so long because I wanted you to know that I have a lead on another Horcrux. I believe it to be Slytherin's locket, but I have no clue where it is. If you could gather more information while you're there, that'd be perfect. Ask only those of your friends that you trust completely. If we can find this, then it's one more and the bastard is mortal again._

 _Also, don't worry about Dumbledore anymore; I have a few contacts on the Board that will gladly help the 'son of an old friend' from getting expelled._

 _Your 'Uncle Ben'_

xxxXXXxxx

Thursday November 23, 1995

True to his word, Darius had kept Dumbledore off of his arse with the Board of Governors; for now.

In other news, after the whole school returned to a sense of normalcy, Harold once again found himself trying to get Blaise to talk to him.

For some reason, it seemed as if the Slytherin had been avoiding him ever since the incident, not even bothering to give him a 'Hello' in Ancient Runes anymore. This was quite strange, as the two other Slytherins that Harold had met were acting as if everything was normal.

When Harold tried to confront Tracey about it, she just shrugged and said, "I don't know what's been going on with him. Ever since that day he's just been a bit… off."

Harold paled at the confirmation, wondering if Blaise had something to do with the murder attempt, and if he did, would he try again?

xxxXXXxxx

Saturday November 25, 1995

After spending all of Friday forming a plan, Harold decided that he would corner Blaise about the incident on Saturday.

Knowing his friend's regular route for Hogsmeade weekends, Harold disillusioned himself and followed Blaise throughout the village, looking for the best time to strike.

Seeing Blaise turn into a lesser known street, Harold saw his chance and grabbed the boy by the arm, dragging him into an empty alleyway.

"Why the hell have you been avoiding me? Does it have to do with the Halloween incident? Were you a part of it?" Harold interrogated, pinning Blaise against the wall.

Blaise sighed, mumbling, "I knew that this would happen eventually," as he shrugged off Harold's gaze with a blank stare that was focused on the back wall.

"Answer me dammit!" Harold growled, shoving Blaise against the wall again.

"I didn't want to talk to you because…"

"Because…?" Harold tried finishing.

"Because I know who tried to kill you," Blaise finished, looking everywhere but at Harold.

"You do? Well why the fuck didn't you say so sooner?" Harold asked.

"Because, it was me," a voice giddily stated.

Harold slowly turned to see Draco Malfoy standing with his wand out, pointed straight at him.

"Now be a good little mudblood and put your wand on the floor nice and slow."

Harold laughed at the boy's cockiness and replied, "And why would I do that?"

"Because if you don't, then today will be the day that you die," Draco half-said, half-asked.

"How… amusing. Before I die, may I at least know why you are trying to kill me?"

"You know why! The Dark Lord does not want any more players in this game of his and you would be a big one. After your little display with Weasley, I knew something was up and sent a letter to my father. He told me to get rid of the worthless mudblood, and if I did, the Dark Lord would make me a part of his Inner Circle. All I had to do was get some idiot with a grudge against you to do it for me. Now put your fucking wand on the floor."

 _Why do the bad guys always shout out their plans when asked to do so? Are they really_ that _stupid?_ Harold mused, carefully placing his wand on the floor.

Blaise slowly began to inch away, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire any more than he had to.

"Is that all? When did you cast the Imperious on Weasley?"

"I found him that day that he spied on you. I knew that he'd be perfect for the job. But it looks like you somehow go away. No matter, you have no wand and you can't conjure another sword. So I guess it's my turn to take out the mudblood trash."

 _So that's the rumor about my sword? They think I conjured it? As if._

"Draco, do you remember what I said when you first used that word around me?" Harold drawled, cocking his head to the side as if he truly did not remember.

"Oh shut up you stupid mudbl-"

Draco said no more, as his head was no longer attached to his shoulders, but was instead rolling on the ground.

"Yeah I figured," Harold stated simply.

Harold transfigured his body to look like a pile of trash; keeping him from suspicion should anyone wonder about where of the Malfoy scion was. _This is… strangely fitting._. _But, how did all of this happen so fast?_

The young elemental then turned to Blaise, all of the annoyance that he had earlier vanished, only to be replaced with a hurt expression.

"Why did you do this to me?" he whispered.

"I…I…" Blaise stammered, clearly fearing for his life.

The young Slytherin took a deep breath before looking at Harold with more courage than he actually had and explained, "The Zabini's have always been neutral in these wars. Always. With me being your friend, I _had_ to help Draco keep his secret, otherwise I would be considered a part of the light. There had to be a balance."

 _Huh… my own teachings against me. Maybe this is true, but_ my _philosophy only applies to people themselves, not overarching things like war. I'd protect those who were innocent over those who have committed atrocities in a war, on both sides. But is this the same thing…?_

Deciding to save that deep and philosophical debate for later, Harold walked away from Blaise, not giving the boy anymore of his time. _Well, I tried. I wonder if Tracey and Daphne will want to talk to me anymore. Who would they choose if they had to?_ He wondered nervously.

xxxXXXxxx

Sunday November 26, 1995

Harold got his answer the next day when both girls showed up to the _Hufflepuff_ table of all places and sat down right next to him; much to the entire hall's shock.

"We're with you Harold," Tracey confided.

"Is this because Malfoy is gone, so nobody in Slytherin would dare challenge you, for fear of my wrath?" Harold inquired.

"Of course, we _are_ Slytherins after all," Daphne clarified with a slight smile on her face.

Harold sighed and replied, "I guess I can accept that."

xxxXXXxxx

Saturday December 2, 1995

After weeks of practice, Harold decided that it was time to give his friends a little… _incentive_ to continue working hard over the holidays. He told them that they would have a tournament, single elimination, with the winner of the whole thing getting a chance to take him on.

Needless to say, when all of his friends weren't bombarding him with questions about the rules, they were practicing on their own, determined to show what they've learned throughout his entire tutelage.

xxxXXXxxx

Saturday December 9, 1995

"The tournament will work like this," Harold explained, holding a hat with numbers in his hands, "Because there are six of you, whomever puts up the best fight gets to go to round two, that way, even if you lose, you still might have a chance at winning. You'll each draw a number from this hat and duel the person who's number would be 'opposite' to yours. Basically, 1 will duel 6, 2 will duel 5 and 3 will duel 4. Now, draw your numbers and let's see who you'll be fighting."

Everyone in the group rushed over to the hat, grabbing a number as quick as they could before shouting it out to everyone.

"I got one!" Terry shouted.

"Six!" Anthony replied.

Instantly the two boys gave a false smile to the other, eyes shining with determination to be able to be called the better Ravenclaw.

"Two," Neville stated.

"Five," Hannah declared.

Neville shied away from Hannah's gaze, blushing because of how much she was staring at him.

"So that leaves…" Harold left off.

Susan and Hermione seemed to be giving each other death glares that would put Snape to shame, as both silently decided that they could _not_ lose this first round.

 _Oh this will be interesting…_

xxxXXXxxx

Saturday December 16, 1995

After giving them a week to prepare, Harold decided that the first round would be on the 16th and the second on the 17th, allowing the winners a full nights rest to recharge their magic.

The first duel was to be between Terry and Anthony after breakfast. Both boys were extremely nervous, neither wanting to make a fool of themselves in front of their friends.

As soon as they could, everyone gathered in the Room. Harold made it so that it would create various objects that they could hide behind and transfigure into weapons, allowing the duel to be a true test of their ingenuity, as well as magical prowess.

The two boys walked to the center of a raised platform, holding their wands as they gave the customary bow between opponents.

"Begin," Harold announced.

Instantly the two boys hid behind whatever they could find. For Terry it was a desk while Anthony hid behind a wardrobe.

Terry took one of the pens that was on the desk and transfigured it into a small dog, banishing it behind where he last saw Anthony. He then sat behind cover, trying to come up with an elaborate plan to beat his fellow Ravenclaw.

Anthony had taken a different approach and immediately cast the illusion spell that Harold taught them before disillusioning himself and slowly making his way behind Terry. While Terry's transfigured dog was try to distract the fake Anthony, the real one waited for the perfect time to strike.

Seeing Terry about to move to intercept the fake Anthony, the real one sent the combo that they learned on their first day at the boy.

At the last second, Terry rolled out of the way of the blinding curse, and whispered " _Protego."_

While the shield kept the body bind from hitting him, the stunner grazed his arm, and Anthony won the duel.

When Harold revived Terry, the boy instantly had a frown on his face and groaned, "How could I let something like THAT take me out so quickly?"

"You sat there and thought too much instead of actually doing something like Anthony," Harold informed.

xxxXXXxxx

After lunch, the group went back to the Room to see the next match against Neville and Hannah.

While Neville was nervously playing with his wand, berating himself for thinking that he could handle Hannah, said girl had already come up with her plan _and_ a backup plan for handling her adversary.

The match started much like the last, with both students instantly going for cover. However, unlike the last one, Neville aimed at the desk that Hannah was hiding behind and shouted, " _Bombarda!"_

The effect was instantaneous. The desk exploded, sending wood splinters everywhere, however, Hannah was nowhere to be found.

 _Another disillusionment,_ Neville thought, _I wish I was actually better at that spell._

While Neville was berating himself once again, Hannah was laying 'spell mines' around the area where Neville was currently hiding. The boy never thought to move out of his spot once his cover was blown.

"Spell mines" were something that Harold picked up from Darius at the age of 13. One would do everything that they normally did when casting a spell, but instead of subconsciously wanting it to go and shoot out of the wand and away from the caster, the spell would instead latch itself onto the ground, thus creating a 'mine' of sorts. This 'mine' could then be set off at any time, causing an explosion that would disorientate the enemy, or, if they were on top of it, kill them. Magic could be used in a variety of different ways; all that mattered was the intent.

As soon as Neville realized that he had spent too much time sitting in one spot and began to move, Hannah released her traps, setting off 5 different mines all around him. Hannah hoped that she could slip inside of his defense in all of the confusion, and then stun him at the last second.

She would be disappointed however.

While Neville _was_ certainly disorientated, he did not forget to put up a shield so that he could block any spell that Hannah could send at him.

Once Hannah yelled, " _Stupefy!"_ Neville let the spell hit his shield in favor of sending his own chain of spells.

" _Reducto! Expelliarmus! Stupefy!"_ the Gryffindor shouted.

Hannah was able to block the shield shattering Reducto, as well as dodge the Disarming spell, but in doing so, she fell victim to the Stunning spell, ending the match and making Neville the winner.

Once she was _Enervated_ , she gave Neville a winning smile and congratulated her friend on his victory, much to his embarrassment.

Harold however was giving him a steely glare and softly accused, "What the hell was that?!"

Everyone was surprised to see Harold, who they thought could never truly get mad at his friends, look extremely upset.

"You stood there like a freakin' flower, berating yourself _in the middle of a battle_. If this was real, you'd be dead. Simple as that. I don't want you to die Neville! So you need to find a way to get over this stupid insecurity that you have going on, otherwise, I can't trust you to properly defend yourself."

And with that, Harold swept from the Room, leaving behind a shocked audience.

As soon as Harold left, Terry shouted, "That was totally uncalled for! You didn't deserve that!"

"Terry's right Neville. Harold had no right to say that," Hannah agreed.

Susan, Hermione and Anthony were silent.

Neville looked straight at his friend and confessed, "But he did… I did everything that he said I did, and if this really _was_ a battle, I _would_ be dead."

"But Neville…"

"No Hannah. He's right. Harold has seen a lot more than any of us. I'm sure that we can all agree on that. We barely know anything about him. I mean I'm almost his… We should just trust his judgement and work on anything that he tells us to. I know that I will," Susan interrupted.

xxxXXXxxx

Dinner was an awkward affair for the group. Harold had not said a word since his initial outburst earlier, and to top it all off, Dumbledore once again announced that if anyone had information on Draco Malfoy's whereabouts, they should contact the Aurors immediately.

"Harold what are we going to do about Malfoy? I know what you told us, but what if they get evidence from Zabini?" Susan whispered.

Harold sighed and replied, "He won't. His little 'Zabini neutrality' rule will keep him from saying anything."

"But what if he-" Hermione interjected.

"No."

"But-"

"I said no Hermione. Now drop it."

Needless to say, the end of dinner was just as awkward as the beginning.

As everyone once again gathered in the Room, Harold instinctively adjusted it to look exactly like it had been for the other two matches.

He sighed and simply said, "Begin," before creating a chair away from the others to sit down in.

Susan and Hermione both gave Harold a look of concern before turning to one another and curtsying respectfully.

Their duel was different from that of the last because instead of either giving the chance to hide behind cover, they immediately started slugging spells at one another.

" _Bombarda!"_ Hermione shouted.

" _Protego! Expelliarmus! Reducto!"_ Susan shouted in reply.

Hermione quickly threw up a _Protego_ to block the two moderately powerful spells, and transfigured one of the desks in the area into a large lion to attack the Hufflepuff.

Susan's focus was split on the lion while trying to dodge the spells, successfully killing it, but was not able to dodge the _Reducto_ in the process. She flew back a few feet, awkwardly rolling onto her feet so as not to get caught unawares by Hermione.

"Ah!" she gasped, clutching her side as a couple of her ribs had broken in the fight.

Susan looked up to see red envelop her vision, a stunning spell threatening to take her out of the fight before she threw up a hasty shield, blocking Hermione's attempt to end the fight quickly.

"You'll have to do more than that to take me down ' _Mione_ ," Susan taunted, grimacing a bit at the pain.

Hermione bristled at the nickname and began to lash out, causing Susan to smirk in triumph.

Hermione was an excellent strategist, and an above average dueler, but when she gets angered, all of that goes out the window, and she makes mistakes.

Susan capitalized on this by trying to transfigure two wolves from the desks behind Hermione, successfully doing so without the Gryffindor noticing.

All she had to do was wait and block a couple of spells from Hermione before a loud groan of pain could be heard as one of the wolves bit into her leg while the other pinned her to the ground.

In order to make it as painless as possible for her friend, Susan quickly cast a Stunner at Hermione, successfully hitting her and ending the fight.

After a nurse created by the Room tended to Hermione's wounds, (they couldn't go to Pomfrey without any awkward questions as to how she actually _got_ the injuries) Harold enervated the girl and gave her a small smile, "You got one of those tempers of yours again. Honestly, 'Mione isn't even that bad of a nickname," he drawled. Then, he whispered, "It's actually kind of cute," causing the girl to blush profusely.

"And you," Harold said, turning to Susan with a hint of something akin to affection, "You must have a thing for wolves."

"What can I say? They seem to have grown on me," she replied with that same look in her eyes that Harold had.

Instantly the space closed between them and Harold whispered, "You'd better be careful. They might be more trouble than their worth."

"I think that I can handle it," she whispered back, leaning a bit into him.

"Hem, hem," a voice interrupted.

Harold was instantly on guard, pulling out _Higure_ from thin air and pointing it at the figure that sounded sickeningly familiar.

However, as soon as he saw who it really was at the end of the blade, he gave an irritated sigh and demanded, "What are you doing here? And why the hell did you sound like Umbridge? I told you not to…" he then stopped, seeing the looks that he was getting from his friends.

"What?"

"Who are you talking to Harold?" Susan carefully asked.

"You can't see her?" he questioned, with his sword pointed at "Lily" haphazardly.

"No my dear, only you can. For now," "Lily" answered.

"Well then. This is a bit awkward… just forget what you just heard okay? And what you're about to. I'll explain it later."

At everyone's nod, he then turned back to "Lily," clearly expecting an answer for her presence.

"I've just come from Dumbledore's office. He is suspecting you for Malfoy's death, and trying to get the portraits to spy on you."

"Oh is he…" Harold mused, stroking his forming goatee in thought.

"I can make sure that they don't, but I just wanted you to know to be even more careful. He's just as smart as Riddle, and if what I'm finding is to be true, even more of a bastard.

"What are you talking about?" Harold questioned.

"Do not worry about it right now. Just focus on your other two missions," she reassured.

"Okay… but we're going to talk about this later."

"Of course," she replied, leaving in a wisp of smoke.

"Uhhh Harold?" Neville asked.

"Yeah Neville?"

"What the hell was that mate?"

"Nothing that concerns you lot at the moment. I promise, you'll know by the end of the year."

 _I wonder what will happen once they see who she looks like… do I want them to?_

xxxXXXxxx

Sunday December 17, 1995

After much discussion, it was decided that Hermione would be the one to continue onto the semifinals, seeing as how she had come the closest to winning without actually doing so.

The group was now sitting at the Hufflepuff table together, deciding that they were all past the silliness that the house system brought with it. Terry was telling a joke about a Slytherin, a nun and a centaur at a bar before Harold quietly asked Neville, "Could I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure Harold," Neville replied.

Both got up and went into the Entrance Hall and sat in the corner so as to not be overheard. Just in case, Harold put a silencing ward around them.

"I wanted to talk to you about your insecurity problem," Harold explained, as if talking about the weather and not a serious issue that seemed to affect Neville's whole life.

"Oh…" Neville lamely mumbled.

"When did it start?" Harold asked.

Neville sighed and slumped against the wall, not wanting to talk about it but knowing that it could only help him.

 _This is Harold that we're talking about. If I can't trust him, then I can't trust anyone._

"Ever since I can remember, I've always been praised for doing something that I have no memory of," Neville started.

"No one ever really saw the boy behind the whole Boy-Who-Lived crap… and that only got worse since first year. Dumbledore hid the Philosopher's Stone in the castle, wanting to trap Voldemort and made it so that I would be the one to face him."

Harold nodded his head, showing that he was following along, not missing any detail.

"Except, I couldn't. I doubt that I could even now. That time in the graveyard was a fluke, nothing more. So when the time came, it was Dumbledore and not me who banished the Dark Lord. But he still told everyone else that I did it. He obviously didn't mention him by his name of course, he didn't think that the people could handle it, but he made me into a hero once again. "'Boy-Who-Lived' saves Hogwarts in first year," can you imagine?" Neville explained.

"The same thing happened second year, except this time a student actually got kidnapped. It was Ginny Weasley, but no one knows that. I think she had a crush on me, but I'm not too sure…"

"I see you as more of a blonde type of guy," Harold interrupted, giving Neville a knowing wink.

The Gryffindor blushed, thinking of one blonde in particular before returning to his explanation, "Anyways, I kept on getting credit for things that I didn't do. And I didn't like it, but I knew that I couldn't do anything about it. Now everyone expects such great things out of me, and I feel as though I just don't measure up."

Harold and Neville sat in silence for a couple of moments before Harold firmly stated, "Look at me Neville."

And Neville did. And what he saw took his breath away. _No one has ever looked at me like that before…_

Harold's face was filled with nothing but pride in his friend, knowing that he would do anything for his friends and respected that immensely.

"You are my friend, so I will be completely honest with you. It may not seem like it now. It might not seem like it later. But you have the potential to be great. Brilliant even. Don't you ever, ever think otherwise, okay?"

Neville simply nodded, not trusting his voice to work. _Maybe he's right. Maybe I could be great…_

xxxXXXxxx

The first round of the semifinals was between Hermione and Neville.

With both having a full nights rest to replenish their magic, the match promised to be an exciting one.

As soon as the match started, Neville instantly took cover and tried to transfigure several small objects into small animals like dogs and cats. Succeeding in making 3, he sent them out to Hermione as a distraction.

Hermione had seen enough of this technique to know how to counter it, and after casting spells that hid her scent and silenced her footsteps, she disillusioned herself and created a smoke screen.

Neville was instantly on guard, making himself smaller while trying to catch even the faintest of glimmers.

Silence.

 _It's a bit… too silent,_ he thought, sneaking a peek around the corner to see a red spell looming at him, "Bollocks," he mumbled.

Rolling away from the spell, he had to quickly cast a shield as three more were sent at him from many different directions.

 _Dammit, where are you Hermione?_

As soon as she thought that, she saw a glimmer to her right and sent a Disarming spell towards it, hoping to catch his opponent off guard.

He didn't.

Hermione blocked the spell and the duel truly began.

" _Bombarda! Reducto!"_ she cried.

" _Protego! Stupefy!"_ Neville replied.

Hermione simply dodged the Stunner and ran towards Neville, surprising the boy before knocking him flat on his arse with a roundhouse kick.

Neville's wand went flying out of his hand while Hermione quickly stunned the disarmed boy, ending the duel with her being the victor.

The group was silent before Harold shouted, "Damn 'Mione! Where was that yesterday?"

"Yeah, that was totally bad ass!" Anthony added.

Hermione blushed at his praise, and use of her dreaded nickname, before giving him a sheepish grin and replied, "I would have used it. If _someone_ hadn't sent wolves on me _,"_ here she gave Susan a slightly pointed glare.

"Well would you mind _Enervating_ Neville? I don't feel like getting up."

Hermione rolled her eyes at her best friend's laziness before doing what he asked.

xxxXXXxxx

The next and final battle for the semifinals was between Anthony and Susan.

While Anthony was bigger and had more stamina than Susan, she had better accuracy and proficiency when casting spells.

As soon as the duel started, the two traded spells, completely foregoing the environment and transfiguration.

" _Bombarda! Expelliarmus! Reducto!"_ Anthony shouted.

" _Protego!"_ Susan exclaimed in response, letting the _Bombarda_ hit the shield, cracking it, while dodging the other two.

" _Petrificus Totalus!"_ Susan cried.

The body bind grazed Anthony's arm, locking it in place to his side, much to his annoyance.

While Anthony had to spend time with the counter-curse, Susan wet the ground by him with an _Aguamenti_ and then froze it with a _Glacius._

Anthony did not notice his surroundings, and so when he took a step forward, he slipped on the ice and fell on his back.

Susan quickly capitalized on this and sent a Disarming spell at him before Stunning him, winning in less than a couple of minutes.

After Anthony was _Enervated_ , he groaned, "Uhhh what happened?"

"Ya slipped on some ice ya dork! What a crappy way to end a semifinal," Harold mused, chuckling at his friend's misfortune.

"And so, it looks like you two will get a rematch," Harold explained excitedly, pointing at Susan and Hermione.

Both turned to one another and said, "I won't lose," much to the enjoyment of the group.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Here we go! Next Chapter: Winter Break and Hermione vs. Susan. I think this also sort of transformed into who will get to Harold first… I'll give you a hint and tell you that it will be the victor, purely for my own amusement. Don't expect there to be lovey dovey scenes though. I'm not really into that. You'll just see hints of the progressing relationship throughout the story.**

 **So once again, thank you all for reading. Again, this is my first FanFic and I hope that I am doing alright if the…7 positive reviews that I have so far are any indication. I have 8 but… well that was really a question that I had already answered/clarified in the chapter afterwards.**

 **Another thing, I just got contacted by this person… don't know if it's spam. They told me to type in 'Accio Nox' for their search thing. It'd be cool if this was an actual thing, because then that means that someone really liked my stuff, but if it isn't that's okay as well.**

 **Shoutout to UrbanLeviathan for favoriting first! Thanks so much!**


	9. Chapter 9: Bookworm or Redhead?

Chapter 9: Bookworm or Redhead?

Thursday December 21, 1995

The final battle between Susan and Hermione was to be on the Thursday before the group left for the winter holidays, with the victor getting the chance to duel Harold the day after. This would be the day after finals, to which Hermione agreed with immediately.

 _You'd think that having a tutor that knows just as much as the teacher does in most subjects would help her get over her school craze, but it really didn't_ , Harold mused.

Both girls were extremely nervous because of the conversation that they had the night before. They both knew that this duel would drastically change how next semester would go.

xxxXXXxxx

 _The Night Before_

 _As the group walked out of the Room, Susan held Hermione back, telling the Gryffindor that she wanted to talk before their duel the next day._

 _"Look," Susan started, "I know how you feel about Harold. And I have a pretty good idea of why nothing has happened yet."_

 _Hermione blushed and her gaze drifted to the ground, confirming Susan's assumptions._

 _"So, seeing as how we are both falling for him, I wanted to make a bet with you."_

 _Hermione's head snapped back to look at Susan, eyes narrowing with suspicion about what her friend would propose._

 _"What is the bet?" she asked carefully._

 _Susan grinned and replied, "I propose that whoever wins tomorrow's bet gets Harold all to themselves. Until break up or marriage."_

 _Hermione's face turned beet red now, as the idea of…_ marrying _Harold was both extremely nerve-racking, yet extremely pleasing as well. However, she did have one objection._

 _"We can't just do this without telling Harold! It sounds as if we're pawning him off at an auction or something!" she harshly whispered, berating herself for even_ thinking _of doing something like that to Harold._

 _"Hermione, this isn't like that. All I'm proposing is that whoever wins gets the first crack at him. It's his choice if he wants to actually take it."_

 _Hermione spend several minutes in thought before agreeing._

 _"Good," Susan smiled, "Now, whoever wins this tomorrow. I want there to be no hard feelings, okay? We both deserve to win, and a chance at this boy, so there will be no bitterness between us."_

 _"Agreed," Hermione assured, smiling a bit at the prospect of winning._

xxxXXXxxx

As the two girls snapped back to reality, at the same exact time no doubt, Harold began to explain some of the extra rules.

"Alright so this time, instead of you having most of the area to duel in, I've created a dueling circle about 20 feet in diameter. It will have a barrier to protect us from any stray spells. There won't be any objects around for you to transfigure, and so there will be no cover to hide behind, okay?"

At the two girls nod, he continued, "The duel will end when the other person Stunned, or unable to continue. Naturally, this means that the _Expelliarmus_ spell is somewhat useless now."

The two looked at him in shock before nodding, accepting the facts. "It's not like we could really use it on Death Eaters anyways _,"_ Susan whispered to Hermione, "I mean could you imagine someone defeating the most powerful Dark Lord in history with a charm taught to first years?"

Hermione snorted at this, agreeing with Susan and finding the notion to be ridiculous.

"-less you can Stun your opponent after it's used, the duel continues. After that, just have fun and do your best ladies," Harold finished with a beaming smile.

"Oh, I'll make sure to Wolfie," Susan flirted with a wink.

 _Wolf..ie? Hm… I kind of like that…_ Harold thought, deeply concentrating on the word and its effect on him.

Neville coughed, "Uhhh Harold. The match?"

"Oh, right. Ready?"

The two girls got into their respective dueling stances.

Hermione had her feet shoulder width apart, body facing sideways towards the enemy so as to create a smaller target. Her arms a bit stiff in the air with her wand arm up and her other arm behind her.

Susan was in a similar stance, but where Hermione was a bit stiff and rigid; Susan was loose and a bit jumpy, staying on the balls of her feet and ready to move.

"Set."

Their grip on their wands tightened, holding their breath a bit in anticipation.

"Begin."

" _Reducto!"_ two voices cried.

The spells went careening at one another, and actually collided in the air, sending them harmlessly away from either combatant.

"Well that was… interesting," Harold mused, smiling at the prospects of this match.

After the initial shock, Susan quickly cried, " _Incarcerous! Petrificus Totalus! Stupefy!"_

Hermione's eyes widened as thick brown ropes came straight at her, threatening to capture her and end the duel.

Rolling away from them at the last second, she barely muttered a _Protego_ before the last two spells splashed against it, knocking her a few feet back for the impact.

Quickly getting up, the Gryffindor smirked at the Hufflepuff and cast an obscure smoke screen spell that she had found in a book before disillusioning herself.

Susan tried desperately to dispel the smoke, but the more times she tried, the more smoke appeared.

The Hufflepuff saw a flash of brown hair before she sent off a _Stupefy_ , hoping to catch the Gryffindor off guard.

The only sound that she heard was glass breaking.

 _What the…?_

Hermione was currently creating 10 body height mirrors to surround Susan, using an old Muggle trick to try and beat the redhead.

One of her mirrors just got cracked before she decided to start moving and capture the other girl.

Susan saw yet another Hermione, sending a Stunner at it, but only finding it to be _another_ mirror.

 _Damn this girl is too smart for her own good._

Suddenly, a cutting hex came from in front of Susan, but as she tried to just let it pass to her right by turning sideways, it hit her right shoulder.

 _Behind?!_ _Shit._

Outside, Hermione continued to send various hexes and curses, nothing too dangerous, just enough to have Susan constantly second guess herself. _This is a bit fun,_ Hermione mused, _I hope that I win, I really want t-_

The girl was brought out of her thoughts by a blast of blinding white, shielding her eyes so as to not go blind, she didn't see all of her mirrors get destroyed or the smoke dissipate from her lack of focus.

 _Damn… she got me._

When the smoke cleared, everyone could see the two girls panting, Susan because of her cuts and bruises, and Hermione from sheer magical exhaustion.

After catching a quick break, Susan shouted with a smile, "C'mon 'Mione, that was totally uncalled for!"

Hermione bristled at the name, but said nothing, choosing to instead wipe the sweat off of her brow from getting into her eyes.

Susan frowned a bit at her lack of response before she quickly cried, " _Bombarda! Reducto! Petrificus Totalus!"_

Hermione foolishly blocked the first one, determined to not let Susan get her to dodge.

This would be her undoing.

Her shield cracked immediately under the force of the _Bombarda_ , and completely ripped apart after the _Reducto._ The body bind found it's mark, tying the Gryffindor up.

" _Stupefy,_ " Susan whispered before falling to the ground, ending the match and making her the victor.

Harold quickly put down the barrier and rushed towards Susan who looked to be the more injured of the two, holding her in his lap with his arms cradling her head.

"C'mon Suze, you've gotta stay awake. Can't have my victor fall asleep on me now, can I?" Harold chuckled.

"Your victor? Since when have I been yours?" Susan mumbled, liking the way that he phrased his words, but curious nonetheless.

"I heard you both last night," Harold whispered.

Susan's face was overcome with shock and a little bit of shame, "So does this mean the bet is off?" she questioned, desperately hoping that it wasn't.

"Well… it was an exciting match. And you were a bit underhanded. But…"

Without warning, Harold leaned in and gave Susan a gentle kiss, showing how much he actually cared for her.

He pulled back slowly and asked softly, "Does that answer your question?"

Susan gave a relieved sigh and a little nod, not trusting her voice at the moment as she felt as if her heart would leap from her chest.

Hermione woke up to this after being _Enervated_ by Hannah.

"It sucks… doesn't it," she asked sadly.

"Not as much as I thought it would," she replied, "I think… I think I always knew that I wouldn't be his first love."

"But you will be his last?" Hannah finished.

Hermione turned to her and gave her a small smile.

"I hope so," she whispered.

xxxXXXxxx

Friday December 22, 1995

The group gathered in the Room for the last time that year, wanting to spend the last day before winter break outside with their other friends.

As Harold drew the dueling circle, he boasted, "I'll take it easy on you Suze, with me being a total badass and all."

Susan rolled her eyes, playfully retorting, "Please, I could take you with one arm tied behind my back."

Harold's eyebrow rose at this and whispered in her ear, "Oh, I hope so."

Susan shivered and gave a rare blush at his comment before she scowled at his ability to _always_ manage to do that. _He is not going to make this easy,_ she thought, _Oh well. That will make this more interesting anyway._

Hermione watched all of this from the sidelines, a pang of jealousy rose within her before she crushed it, giving a genuine smile at the two's happiness.

 _It's selfish of me to think about that,_ she thought, berating herself as she _had_ agreed to the bet. _Nobody forced me to do it. I'll just have to live with the consequences… for now._

Back to the circle, Harold whispered to Susan, "So what's this thing about a challenge involving broom cupboards that Neville told me about?"

Susan choked, turning an even brighter red at the thought of doing _that challenge_ with Harold when they came back from break. _This one is gonna kill me…_

Neville coughed and asked, "Are you guys ready yet, or do you need some more time?"

Harold smiled at Neville and with a wink replied, "Maybe five more minutes?"

Everyone laughed, as Harold and Susan took their dueling positions.

If you could call Harold's stance a dueling position.

The boy was currently standing around, acting as if nothing was wrong, not even bothering to draw his wand.

Susan rolled her eyes, "I thought that we were going to duel _Wolfie_? I don't want to knock you on your ass _that_ quic-" Susan could say no more as a weak _Reducto_ suddenly caught her in the back, making her face plant to the ground without actually harming her.

Harold walked over to her and playfully whispered, "What were you saying _Suze?_ Something about knocking _me_ on _my_ ass?"

Susan growled at him, quickly getting up and giving him an irritated look.

"How did you do that? And without your wand?"

Everyone else in the group wondered the same thing.

"I guess I'm just full of surprises," Harold vaguely answered.

Susan groaned, getting even more irritated, before throwing a degree of curses and hexes towards Harold, who instantly dodged them without any effort.

"That's it! Nice aim! Oh crap that almost hit me!" Harold encouraged.

The battle continued like this for a while, with Susan casting and Harold dodging, before Susan had enough and dropped her arm, panting in exhaustion.

"Suze, I hope you know, that you could've taken on any 7th year _and_ won with your skills," Harold praised while he began to walk over to her.

Susan smiled as he approached, looking as if she conceded defeat and accepted his praise.

As soon as he got within a few feet, she suddenly whipped her wand and yelled, " _Stupefy!"_ forcing all of her power into the spell to increase its range and speed.

The spell hit Harold point blank, actually knocking him back a few feet before his body gave a thump as it hit the ground, seemingly defeated.

Susan gave a whoop of triumph, while everyone else loudly congratulated her on her win, not expecting her to even come close.

" _Oh dear!_ That was a move worthy of a _Slytherin!_ " a voice behind her exclaimed.

Susan groaned and tiredly turned around to face her boyfriend, standing tall and _not_ unconscious.

The girl then turned and saw the illusion that Harold had made disappear in a wisp of smoke.

"Unfortunately for you, I have _all_ of the good characteristics of that house, namely cunning, resourcefulness" here he whispered "and deception."

Red filled Susan's vision as she was knocked out, ending the match in Harold's favor.

"Good try though love."

xxxXXXxxx

Saturday December 23, 1995

Harold met all of his friends at the Great Hall, kissing his girlfriend before sitting at the Hufflepuff table. Daphne and Tracey gave him pointed looks, as they had not heard news about the newly formed couple, but said nothing, accepting the situation for what it was.

"So Anthony, Weasley twins pull any good pranks lately?" Harold asked, as he grabbed a treacle tart and some porridge.

"No, but I think that they'll have something planned for today, it _is_ the last day of the semester. Although, with Umbridge gaining more power with those stupid Decrees, I'm not too sure."

Conversation was relatively light after that, with nobody wanting to talk about the oncoming war that everyone else refused to acknowledge or the incompetent Ministry and their interference at Hogwarts.

Once breakfast was over, everyone headed out of the Great Hall and made their way to the train, already having shrunk their luggage to fit in their pockets the night before.

"You know, this semester has been one of the craziest ones that I've ever had," Neville announced, "And that's saying something, considering my track record."

"Oh I know what you mean Neville," Harold agreed, "I've done some pretty crazy stuff myself. But this semester is definitely at my top ten."

xxxXXXxxx

The group boarded the train, taking a compartment in the back with Harold expanding it to fit all of them.

They spent the train ride telling stories to Harold of past years as Susan cuddled up against him. Many of them also spent their time playing Exploding Snap, much to Hermione's irritation.

Finally, the train stopped at Platform 9 ¾ to which the group saw many happy reunions between family members.

"Alright, we're gonna go see our parents. See you all next year!" Tracey cheered.

"See you later," Harold smiled, "And don't forget to write."

"Oh how could we?" Daphne playfully jibed, winking at him before she walked away with Tracey.

"Ohhh Susan, you better watch out. Looks like you have some competition!" Neville joked.

An uncomfortable silence fell upon four of the seven as Terry and Anthony laughed at their friend's joke.

"Yeah well, let's just go. I want to meet your parents," Harold said to Hermione and Susan, trying to move on from _that_ subject.

"Sure, mine should be on the other side of the barrier," Hermione replied.

"And my Aunt is… right there," Susan stated, running to her aunt to give her a hug.

Harold, Hermione and Hannah went over to the duo after saying their goodbyes to the boys, promising to write them and meet up over the break.

"So you're the boy who my niece has written so much about," Amelia Bones stated, sizing Harold up and finding him to be acceptable.

"Yes, ma 'am, my name is Harold, and may I say that I am at grateful to you for raising such a fine young woman," the young man replied, bowing low and courteously.

"Oh none of that ma 'am business. It's just Amelia. And thank you."

"Noted… Amelia," Harold corrected, testing out the word on his tongue.

"It's good to see you Aunty Lia!" Hannah shouted as she went crashing into Amelia.

"As it is to see you Hannah," the woman chuckled.

The new group began to discuss things like how the school year was and how they think they did on their finals before Hermione announced, "I have to go, my parents are waiting for me on the other side of the barrier."

"Alright, but I'm coming with you," Harold declared.

He then turned to Susan and smiled at her, giving her a wink before giving her a kiss that promised more if they met up over the break.

Needless to say, she was finding a way to make that happen.

After pulling apart to see an extremely pleased expression on his girlfriend's face, he turned to Amelia and Hannah, saying goodbye before going with Hermione.

The walk was a bit awkward at first, as both didn't want to comment on what Harold just did, but they were saved as soon as they walked out of the barrier when a pair of adults came and hugged their only daughter.

"Hey baby, how was it?" asked a short bushy haired woman that looked like an older Hermione.

"It was good mum," Hermione replied, rolling her eyes as she sent her mother letters almost _every single day_ about her stay at Hogwarts.

"So you're the young man my daughter has been writing about?" asked a gentle looking man with glasses and blonde hair.

"Yes I am sir," Harold answered, chuckling a bit because of the similarity of the question to Amelia's.

Hermione seemed to notice it as well, as she was blushing like crazy, thinking of how this could have been if she had won the duel. _No, I can't do that,_ she reminded herself.

After exchanging pleasantries, Harold said goodbye to Hermione, giving her a loving hug before leaving to go and see Darius.

"Hermione dear," her mother asked, "Is he your boyfriend?"

Hermione sighed and replied, "No."

"Not yet at least," she added, barely a whisper, but somehow he mother caught it and smiled, hoping for the best for her child.

xxxXXXxxx

December 25, 1995

"Kid! I'm going to kick your ass!" Darius screamed.

"Oh come on Darius, stop being so dramatic," Harold drawled, secretly enjoying the fact that he finally landed a serious blow in a real fight with Darius after 15 years.

Harold was then promptly knocked on his ass, glaring at Darius' smug expression.

"Don't ever forget… who taught you… everything you know… _little boy,"_ he mocked between breathes, slumped over a bit in exhaustion.

Harold smiled at the insult, actually _smiled_ , and shot back, "You're about to see what months of pent up frustration for being around _children_ has done to me Darius."

To say that the battle that ensued was epic would be like calling the Eifel Tower pretty or the Mariana Trench; it just wouldn't do it justice.

Needless to say, Harold really enjoyed his Christmas.

xxxXXXxxx

December 26, 1995

Harold woke up with a groan, feeling stiff from last night's fight.

He had used his 'Lightning Step' _five_ times, and felt reminded of the day when he had learned to do it three times.

As the young man stood under the warm water of the shower, with droplets of it rolling down his face, he once again thought about the changes that he had gone through this year.

Due to the ritual that he had done to look like Darius' son, his black hair was now gaining a bit of a blueish tint to it. His shoulders were wider from all of his training, and he now had a nicely developed six pack. His cheekbones had risen a bit; looking more like Darius' and his tan had stayed from his visit to Rome over the summer.

He was now standing at 6' even, having grown a bit over the semester, but not enough to his liking.

As he stepped out of the shower and dried himself off, Harold looked into the mirror to see the silver in his eyes reach halfway to covering them, surrounding the emerald green completely.

 _I'm going to have to ask Darius about this,_ Harold thought.

Stepping into his black and white room, which was barely decorated as Harold was not really a fan of it, he reached out and grabbed a pair of black Muggle jeans with a white button-down shirt and a black overcoat. He decided that he wanted to be dressed for both casual and formal in order to make a good impression, and completed his look with a black and white tie.

He was going over to Susan's house today as she wanted him to have dinner with her Aunt.

Making sure that he had everything, Harold then said goodbye to Darius and got into his new car that the man had gotten him for Christmas.

While Harold was too young to drive legally, neither Darius nor he cared enough to prevent him from learning.

At five minutes to 7, Harold got into his black and white 1967 Chevy Impala and drove over to Susan's house. He had cast a charm on it so that it would work similarly to the Knight Bus, letting him traverse great distances in a small amount of time.

After arriving there in less than 5 minutes, Harold got out of his car and walked up to Bones Manor. The manor stood tall and proud, welcoming those that were friends to the family, while discouraging anybody that wished to harm them.

Knocking on the door, Harold saw it open to the most magnificent girl that he had ever scene.

Susan was wearing a deep red dress that hugged all of her assets, particularly showing off her impressive bust. She wore her hair back in a messy bun, which only made her more beautiful in Harold's eyes, as light make up covered her face.

Harold's mouth opened slightly at the fiery goddess in front of him.

Susan smirked at the way that he was looking at her, taking his expression as a _very_ big compliment.

"Are you going to stand there all day and stare at me, or are you going to come inside?" she chuckled.

Harold schooled his features and gave her a winning smile before taking her hand and kissing the back of it, "Lead the way, _my goddess_ ," he whispered.

The redhead blushed at his praise before leading him to the dining room to which he found that they were the only ones there.

"I thought that your Aunt was to be joining us?" Harold asked, confused a bit at her absence.

"Oh, did I say that? Hm, I meant that she would be out this _entire_ weekend on a trip for the Ministry. We have the house to ourselves," Susan answered, with a fake look of surprise at her forgetfulness.

"Oh…" Harold lamely replied, voice caught a bit in his throat at the prospects of what this weekend with his girlfriend would bring. _It won't end in_ that… _Will it?_

Unknown to Harold, Susan was thinking the same thing, although she had already reached a conclusion, _No, it won't… but that's not to say that we can't do_ other _stuff._

Giggling a bit, the girl sat down next to her boyfriend, enjoying his company as they talked about their break so far.

Susan never noticed the figure watching in the background, laughing silently at her niece's naivety. _Yeah right,_ she thought, _like I'm going to leave you alone all weekend when you have a hot boyfriend._

Harold looked in her direction for a second, giving her a wink before turning back to Susan, showing her that he knew full well who was in the shadows watching them.

 _Oh he_ is _a sharp one, now isn't he? I approve. You'd better keep my niece safe._ Amelia then walked back to her room, knowing that they wouldn't get into anything _too_ crazy.

xxxXXXxxx

Tuesday January 2, 1996

The day after New Year's, the group once again found themselves on the Hogwarts Express, taking the train back to their magical school.

The reunion between Harold and Susan after only a few days of being apart ended in a lot of kissing between the two, and wolf whistles from the guys. Hermione just watched on with a smile on her face, not knowing if it was genuine or not.

They spent the train ride catching up and trying to decide where they would sit for dinner.

"I'm telling you, it should be Hufflepuff!" Susan argued for the thousandth time.

"Why? We always sit there! It's not fair. I'm saying Ravenclaw," Anthony retorted, not budging one inch.

"But what about Gryffindor? That's neutral ground, right?" Neville asked.

Both Susan and Anthony turned to Neville and spat together, "Never!"

Hermione just rolled her eyes at their antics, while Harold seemed to have a deep look of concentration on his face, seemingly meditating.

Finally, when their arguing got to be too much for him, he yelled, "Well if you want fuckin' neutrality, let's just sit at the god damn Slytherin table?!"

And that's how everyone ended up eating at the Slytherin table.

Every single Slytherin besides Tracy and Daphne had an annoyed look on their face, while the two female Slytherins had smug faces, as they sat down with their reason for 'immunity.'

They barely payed attention to Dumbledore's opening speech, having already lost all respect for him that Halloween.

When the food appeared to start the feast, the group sat in silence, enjoying one another's company before eating. After a couple of moments, they noticed that Umbridge had started to walk up to their table, with two Aurors behind her.

The one on the left had stocky shoulders and a hard expression on his face. He definitely looked like someone that you do not want to cross.

The one on the right wore a blank expression, and was lean and tall, with an almost lion like face. _Definitely looks like the superior officer,_ Harold thought.

"Oh this _cannot_ be good," Susan whispered.

She couldn't have been more right.

"Mr. Harold," Umbridge started with a sickly smile on her face, "Could you come with us please?"

Silence filled the hall as everyone tried to listen in on another juicy story involving Harold.

"And why would I do that _, ma 'dam_?" Harold inquired.

"Stuff it kid," one of the Aurors growled.

"We are here to take the one who calls himself Harold in for questioning for the disappearance of Draco Lucius Malfoy, and for the murder of Ronald Bilius Weasley."

"Whoa, what?! On what evidence?!" Harold exclaimed.

"That's classified!" the first Auror growled.

"I have a right to know who is pressing these charges," Harold argued, " _And_ who is providing evidence for these allegations!"

The second Auror sighed and replied, "Fine. You are being accused by Dolores Jane Umbridge and Albus Dumbledore-" the group gasped in shock, not expecting the old man to work with the toad-like woman, "and we have evidence from a both of your accusers and one Blaise Zabini."

Almost the entire hall turned to the Slytherin who was trying, and failing to look as nonchalant as possible. Everyone was completely surprised at the betrayal, as they did not know what happened on the day that Draco was killed.

Harold was silent for a few moments, deciding whether or not to flee or go with the Aurors. The Aurors seemed to sense this too, as they moved their hands to their wands, waiting to see what he would do.

Deciding that it would be best to go with them, Harold raised his arms slowly and with no emotion on his face said, "Okay. I'll go with you."

"No! Don't do it Harold! Susan yelled, clinging to her boyfriend desperately, hoping to end this nightmare.

Harold silenced her with a look, and softly whispered, "I have to Suze. I'll only make it look worse for myself if I try to resist."

His gaze then turned to his other friends, with all of them giving varying degrees of protest. "I'm sorry guys. I'll see you later, yeah?"

The first Auror snorted, finding that notion to be ridiculous, when suddenly his amused expression turned into a fearful one as Harold gave an animalistic growl that scared him to his very soul.

Everyone saw this happen and gave an involuntary shudder, glad that they weren't on the end of _that._

Harold smirked and then without any emotion at all said, "Take me away."

 **Author's Note:**

 **Well, that escalated quickly. So a few of you thought that the Draco scene was anticlimactic. I get it. I do. But it was SUPPOSED to be. Do you honestly think that Draco had ANY chance at all to kill Harold? Yeah, thought so. Even in the books, Harry always got one over on Malfoy, and compared to mine, that guy was weak as shit!**

 **I honestly feel like Rowling made a bit of a mistake. I felt like Harry was weak as all hell and would sometimes just have extraordinary moments of badassdom. But I guess that's up for debate.**

 **And yes, I chose Susan. Ha. Hahahahaha. It is vital that I choose her instead of Hermione, and you'll see why soon.**

 **I think this next chappie might be the second to last or third to last chapter? I didn't want to make this too long, because I have thoughts on a sequel, so maybe like 50,000-60,000 words? Really not too sure about it all.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Love it? Hate it? Review either way! (:**

 **Just got my first negative review last night! I truly feel like an author now!**

 **Dear Guest Who Didn't Even Bother to Put a Name,**

 **I thank you for your feedback, but if you could actually point out where I "Made the characters act illogical and stupid" and made some of them "OOC" then I would accept your review and take it into consideration. Instead, you went on Guest, and gave me these vague comments.**

 **If you are referring to Ronald's actions, need I remind you how much of a jealous bint he is? I mean seriously, even Rowling emphasized how bad his jealousy was. For my story, after having your "best friend" ripped away from you after being with them for 4 ½ years, you'd feel pretty angry over losing them to some unknown. Add to the fact that he got the Imperius cast on him? Enough said.**

 **As for Malfoy and his scene, that boy was an arrogant little shit who always went to daddy at the slightest boo boo. Lucius, the fucker himself, actually has some brains, but I don't think Malfoy ever did, which led to his demise.**

 **Your Angered Author,**

 **SokoNinjaz**

 **P.S. I wouldn't be this pissed if you had actually put your name.**


	10. Chapter 10: To Azkaban or Bust!

Chapter 10: To Azkaban or Bust!

Saturday January 6, 1996

After being left to rot for three days in a Ministry cell, the Aurors finally decided to question Harold on Saturday. The two men that picked him up from Hogwarts immediately slapped cuffs on him, not even bothering to think that they would never hold him. _Foolish wizards and their hubris…_

Seeing as how Dumbledore has been severely discredited by the Ministry themselves, Harold honestly did not think that the old man would work with that toad bitch and the government.

 _How could I have been so blind? Of course that bastard would,_ Harold thought, berating himself for forgetting Dumbledore's character. _He'll want to punish any "_ Dark wizard," _while protecting the "_ Light _" from everything. It's fuckin' ridiculous._

As Harold was dragged to the interrogation room, he tried to memorize the layout of the building, wanting to find a way to escape if he had to. Unfortunately, there were so many twists and turns that he couldn't make sense of anything. The Ministry seemed to go on forever.

 _They probably want me to think that… There must be a trick to it or something._

As Harold was led around by the Aurors, he rarely saw other people, but when he did, they all had the same shiny badge on, right on their left breast that said: MINISTRY OFFICIAL. Looking closer, Harold could detect a faint magical signature on the badge.

 _Of course! The badge must have something to do with how people move around here… but what about the guests? Do they get badges? I'll need to think on this more…_

Finally, the group arrived at the interrogation room, and forced Harold into a chair, his handcuffs molded themselves to the back of it so that they couldn't be taken off to switch positions.

The room was simple enough, with an all-white coloring and metal chairs and table, it really looked like a good place to intimidate people. _Pff… yeah right._

The two Aurors left, leaving Harold alone in the room looking at a large, one-sided glass window. _Do they seriously expect me to say anything? I know that they've already found me guilty. "A supposed muggleborn killing two purebloods? Instant trip to Azkaban." The only question is, will I go?_

Indeed, Cornelius Fudge and Auror Kinsley Shacklebolt were not discussing the possibility of Harold being innocent, but how long his stay in Azkaban would be.

"It should be a lifetime in that place! He killed two purebloods! And one of them was the son of an upstanding member of society! He'll have my head if I don't put him in there!" Cornelius exclaimed.

"We don't know for sure if he killed Malfoy's son. He could really be miss-" Shacklebolt argued.

"No," Fudge interrupted, "You and I both saw the memory of that Zabini brat! Now I made a deal with Dumbledore and Malfoy, and both want to see justice here. He is _guilty_ and that is final! Throw him into Azkaban!"

Shacklebolt gave Fudge a frown before summoning the other Aurors and giving them the directions to prepare the boy for the trip to the dreaded prison.

Harold was not given a trial.

He was not able to defend himself.

He was not allowed to have his side of the story heard.

He was just some stupid muggleborn who killed two purebloods.

Nobody cared about WHO he was, just the STORY that he would make.

And because of all of this, Harold was sent to Azkaban.

xxxXXXxxx

Sunday January 7, 1996

 **MUGGLEBORN ATTACKS AND KILLS TWO PUREBLOODS!**

 **MINSTER SENDS ACCUSED TO AZKABAN IMMEDIATELY, WITHOUT TRIAL!**

By Rita Skeeter

This past Tuesday, as Hogwarts students were enjoying their Welcoming Feast after having been gone due to Christmas Break, one of their own was arrested for the alleged murder of two of his classmates! The accused name: Harold. This is not a joke, the boy's only recorded name is Harold.

Now, after having been in a jail cell for an undisclosed amount of time, and having _presumably_ been interrogated, our Minister of Magic sends him to Azkaban, without a trial! This is the first time in recorded history that a prisoner has ever been sent to Azkaban without a trial, and it reeks of suspicion here at the Daily Prophet. Even the Death Eaters under He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's rule were given a trial, and we all know of the atrocities that they committed.

Was the boy truly guilty, or is it a Ministry cover-up? Why were we not told by Albus Dumbledore, the _Headmaster of Hogwarts,_ about these two deaths? We can only speculate… _for now._

xxxXXXxxx

Hermione set down the paper, tears threatening to fall down her face as she thought of what Harold was about to go through. _Will he leave? Will he leave and never come back to m…_ us?

Neville was gripping his glass of pumpkin juice in anger. Suddenly, the glass broke under his grip, cutting his hand and causing everyone to look at him with a hint of sadness and pity. _Fuck Harold! Why man… why did this have to happen?_

Susan took one good look at the paper and immediately left the hall, not wanting anyone to see her bawl her eyes out. _He's gone… What am I going to do? Oh Harold… please, please come back to me…_

Terry and Anthony saw Susan get up and leave, instantly feeling sadness for their friend. They both turned to one another and slightly nodded their heads, determined to help their friends in their time of need. _It's the least Harold would want us to do._

The school was divided on what had happened with Harold.

The Hufflepuffs decided to remain loyal to their friend, not really caring about what he did, for he had earned their respect, and was never going to lose it.

The Gryffindors were saying that Harold was the greatest thing since sliced bread because of the fact that he got rid of Malfoy. They did not care about the fact that he killed Ronald at all.

The Ravenclaws were the more interesting bunch, as they had many debates regarding the morality of Harold's actions. On the one hand, if Harold killed Malfoy because he was the one who cast the Imperius on Ronald, then it was justified. However, if it was murder, then it was not, even if everyone knew that if Voldemort really was back, Malfoy would want to be a Death Eater in a heartbeat.

The Slytherins were trying to find a way to get back at Daphne and Tracey now that their 'immunity' was gone, but they were finding it to be pretty difficult as ¾ of the school were protecting them.

Most of the staff members were a bit troubled over the death of Malfoy, wondering what caused it, but did not voice their concern to Albus, who was adamant that Harold was guilty of murder and should be sent to Azkaban in order to be reformed.

Nobody believed this besides him, but that didn't stop him from telling everyone every 5 seconds. His cause, after all, was for the Greater Good.

Umbridge was completely pleased with herself, having solved one part of the problem. _Now all that's left is Dumbledore and this castle is mine… Or rather, the Dark Lord's…_

The woman absently rubbed the Dark Mark that had recently been etched into her skin, forever making her a Death Eater. _It does not work well with pink though…_

 _No matter, their cause after all, is a just one._

xxxXXXxxx

Wednesday February 7, 1996

It had been a month since Harold's imprisonment in Azkaban and the young man was already bored. _I thought that this place was supposed to be more… just_ more.

Before he had even gotten on the island, Harold was constantly wondering if the Dementors would affect an elemental. _Surely it wouldn't… our magic is different than normal wizards and these things are specifically bred to work on_ that _magic._

His logic wasn't foolproof, but it was not exactly flawed either.

While the worst effects of the Dementors were lost on him, he still felt the bitter coldness and a strange sense of sadness, almost as if his puppy had died. _Thankfully I've never had a puppy,_ Harold mused, _Otherwise, I might_ seriously _be screwed._

Glad that he could still crack a joke, Harold tried moving around again, only to feel the coldness increase several notches and that sadness turn to an even darker, more primal fear.

 _Nope, better not try_ that _again,_ he thought, rubbing his head as the Dementors gave him massive headaches.

Looking around the room, he noticed that his floor had less of a grimy aspect than he thought it would, and his bed was more comfortable than he expected.

 _It's not…_ that _bad. I could be in one of the higher security wards._ Harold gave an involuntary shudder over what _that_ would feel like.

Suddenly, his cell door opened up to a lone figure in the dark hallway. For a second, Harold thought that Fudge was going to get him Kissed and almost bolted out of there, fugitive or no, he was NOT staying here to get THAT.

But instead of the coldness that was normally associated with the foul creatures, he felt nothing. Looking closer, he saw that the only thing that was outside of his cell was an Auror, and a rather young one at that.

"Y-y-y-yo-you have been given a pardon by the Minister. I-I-I'm to escort you to him immediately," the young Auror stuttered.

 _Oh this_ cannot _be good._

Getting up slowly, Harold prepared himself for the worst and walked away from his cell. The Dementors no longer affected him, as the Auror put him in cuffs that negated their presence. He did not know that it would be the last time that he ever saw it, and Azkaban, again.

xxxXXXxxx

As the duo walked the halls, the young Auror was shivering, whether it was from the Dementors or just the fact that it was bloody _cold_ in Azkaban was unknown to Harold. In contrast, the young elemental was walking with about as much poise and dignity that he could muster after having not moved for a whole month, which was to say, not a lot.

After traversing through many different twists and turns, they finally reached the door to what he supposed would be the room where the Minister would "release" him.

 _Alright… here it comes…_

Getting ready for anything, Harold and the guard walked through the door and into a large and clear white room that contrasted brilliantly from the hallway that they just walked through. Much like his interrogation room, there was a metal table and two metal chairs, but it was the person who was _in_ one of the chairs that really intrigued him.

Sitting as if he did not have a care in the world was a young and healthy looking Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as, the Dark Lord Voldemort.

"Hello Harold," the _thing_ that looked like a man spoke, "It's so good to finally meet you."

xxxXXXxxx

At Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, three figures sat around a small table in the back of the library, talking about their departed friend.

"I just… I wish that I could see him again, you know? I want to tell him… I want to tell him how much I actually love him. We never got to say it to each other, and now I feel… robbed," Susan confessed, barely holding it together.

Neville looked at his friend, who was normally so strong and independent, always willing to stick up for and help her friends, even if it meant that she would get into trouble as well. She still had that spark, that drive that everyone in their group loved about her, but it seemed to have dimmed a bit at the loss of her boyfriend.

Hermione sat in silence, not willing to comment on her friend for her confession. _He's not_ dead. _There just has to be a way to get him out. There_ has _to be._

"You know, I'm glad that we could still do this…" Neville started.

"Do what?" Hermione interrupted.

"Still talk to one another. These stupid house rivalries had kept us apart for such a long time. I'm glad that we have all stayed friends with one another even after Harold… left."

"Well of course we would still be friends. Harold might have been the reason that we came together, but we learned to coexist without him a long time ago… It'd be nice if he was here though…" Hermione explained.

Susan sighed, drawing back the attention to her, before quietly asking, "Is there another way Hermione? Another way to get him back?"

Hermione gave her a tired look that clearly meant what they were all thinking, _I would help if I could, but no, there isn't any way for him to break out of Azkaban that I know of._

The trio then began to talk about lighter things, like homework and tests before leaving together to go and eat. None of them however, ever stopped thinking about their lost friend who meant the world to them.

xxxXXXxxx

Thursday March 7, 1996

Harold slowly awoke from his pain-induced slumber, barely able to get his eyes open before sunlight splashed over the room his was in. Instantly, he shut his eyes again, not wanting to be forced to wake up to face his daily torture.

Eventually, a figure shook him until he woke up, not even considering his feelings about the subject.

"Rise and shine trouble-maker. We've still got a shit-ton of time before Voldemort makes his move, and I want you to be prepared for anything," the figure explained.

"Five more minutes Darius… you worked me like an animal yesterday…" Harold whined.

"I know kid, but I do it 'cause I love ya, now get up!" Darius then conjured a bucket of water and attempted to throw it at Harold, who quickly froze it in midair and then dispelled it.

"Fuck you Darius," he mumbled, before getting up and walking to his bathroom to take a nice and long shower.

Darius had an amused expression on his face, giving Harold a toothy smile as the younger man closed the door in order to have privacy.

As soon as the door closed however, Darius' smile turned into a contemplative frown. _I am doing this to help you kid. I don't want this future battle to be close. No last minute saves where the hero barely makes it out alive. This_ ain't _some fuckin'_ story. _And I'll be damned if I lose you again._

Sitting on the couch in Harold's room, he thought back to the day that the young man showed up at their house, covered in filth and smelling like a sewer.

xxxXXXxxx

 _Wednesday February 7, 1996_

 _"It's so good to finally meet you," Riddle chuckled._

 _"I can't say the same Voldemort, or rather,_ Tom," _Harold spat._

 _The Dark Lord's false smile turned to that of an enraged snarl, threatening to kill the elemental where he stood before calming himself and giving Harold a frown instead._

 _"Yes, that dreaded name that my filthy_ Muggle _father gave me. Tell me, how did you know of this?" Voldemort inquired, genuinely curious._

 _"A little birdy told me," Harold retorted, not willing to give this_ thing _any information at all if he could help it._

 _Voldemort frowned deeper, not liking the brat's attitude in the least._

 _"I take it that you know why you are here?" Voldemort asked, trying to scare the young man._

 _"You're going to try and kill me, or something like that, right?" Harold scoffed, not scared in the least._

 _"I'm not going to_ try _to kill you. I_ am _going to kill you."_

 _"I'll believe it when I see it," Harold smirked._

 _The Dark Lord was now showing his true face; deep crimson eyes poured into silver-emerald, wanting to rip the boy's mind to shreds for his insolence._

 _What he found was not what he expected._

 _Thunderstorms and lightning were instantly hurled at him upon entering, with a fierce wind threatening to knock him off his feet. Voldemort tried dodging the lightning, only to have it hit him in the back, instantly throwing him from the boy's mind._

 _Voldemort lay panting on the floor, sweating dripping off of him in buckets._

 _"Tisk, tisk, c'mon Tom," Harold mocked, "Don't you know it's rude to enter someone's mind without permission?"_

 _The Dark Lord gave an animalistic growl, before he spat, "What are you boy?"_

 _"Nothing that need concern you, you fucking abomination. Now all I have to say is. Kiss. My. Ass," Harold retaliated, before Stunning the most powerful Dark Lord in history and exiting the building, not caring if it made him a fugitive of the Ministry._

 _xxxXXXxxx_

 _Running without his 'Lightning Step' was always strange for Harold._

 _Due to his abilities as a lightning elemental, he was naturally quick and fast, being able to catch a fly out of the air and run a mile in a minute._

 _But never before had he run over_ water.

I guess I just never bothered to test this before, _he mused._

 _Reaching the mainland and the outside of the Apparation wards in less than ten minutes, the boy then Apparated to dozens of different places, trying to throw off any pursuers from his trail before arriving at his home, exhausted beyond belief._

 _To say that he gave Darius a fright would be an understatement, as the man nearly killed Harold on the spot when he dumped himself on the kitchen table._

 _"Fuckin' took you long enough! What were you doin',_ smellin' the roses?" _Darius asked, truly angered at the fact that Harold took_ this _long to escape._

 _"Oh boy, have I ever," Harold yawned, before falling asleep on the table._

 _Darius rolled his eyes before conjuring a futon for Harold and placing him on it, knowing that he wouldn't want to get his bed dirty._

 _"What am I gonna do with you?"_

xxxXXXxxx

Back in the bathroom, Harold had only one thought on his mind, his friends. His girlfriend was of course, at the forefront of such thoughts.

 _What the hell am I going to do? They might try to find me if the Daily Prophet releases the fact that I escaped. But I can't send them any mail! Fuck!_

Harold sighed in exasperation, not liking the situation that he found himself in.

Turning off the hot water, as he felt that he had showered enough, Harold climbed out and dried himself, noticing his appearance in the mirror.

He had lost a bit of his muscle during his stint in Azkaban, which he was now paying for with his training sessions with Darius.

Last night had been the worst, as Darius made Harold perform his 'Lightning Step' _ten_ times throughout the day. Although the session was brutal, it _did_ help him develop and grow with his powers. He could now do the 'Lightning Step' 8 times for 5 seconds before he reached exhaustion, and then an addition 2 times if he had a safe place to rest for the night available.

Darius told him that 7 seconds was the limit, and when he reached it, he could go on using it almost indefinitely. The 'Lightning Step,' he explained, was like a nitro to a car in a video game. It could be used and then had to be stopped before recharging after a couple of minutes.

Darius was also showing Harold other techniques that he could use, namely something that Darius himself had created that he called 'The Shield.'

'The Shield' was a dome of pure plasma that could even block a few Unforgiveables before crashing down, exploding outward and killing anyone around it but the user.

It was a deadly weapon for both defense and offence, but required HUGE amounts of power to use. Harold could only hold it for a couple of seconds before his crashed, leaving him a wreck for two days.

 _That was_ not _fun,_ he remembered.

As the boy stepped out of the shower, he thought about how overpowered he might seem to most wizards.

 _If I'm not too careful, they might either name me as a God or try to kill me as a Demon._

xxxXXXxxx

Daphne looked behind her, making sure that no Slytherins were around her, before she stepped into the Room for the first time ever.

Looking around, she saw what seemed to be a library filled with books, with her seven friends all running around frantically, searching through both huge tomes and small pamphlets, trying to find _something_.

"We'll find something… We'll find something…" Hermione kept on repeating, running through a dusty scroll with Neville.

Susan and Hannah were looking through a book that looked to be four feet tall and had pages that shone a faint gold.

Terry and Anthony were both checking pamphlets, running through them as quickly as they could, searching for… whatever it was that they were searching for.

Tracey was organizing all the books, putting them into different categories that only she knew.

"Umm… what the hell are you all doing?" Daphne asked, truly curious about her friends' actions.

"What does it look like?" Neville drawled, surprising even himself with his tone of voice before continuing, "You saw the paper today. We have to help him."

"Oh," Daphne simply replied, remembering the cover of the Daily Prophet which claimed that Harold had escaped Azkaban a month before, while the Ministry said nothing until they were pressed into doing so.

"Oh? Damn, I know that they call you the Ice Queen, but come on. He _is_ your friend," Anthony lightly chided.

"He is not!" Daphne argued, not convincing anyone with her words.

"Oh come on! Yes he is Daph. You know it as well as I do," Hannah winked.

"Don't call me Daph," the girl in question growled.

"Yeah, yeah, now come over and help me with this, I need these organized quickly so that Hermione can absorb them into that void of knowledge that she calls a brain," Tracey smirked.

"You never explained what you're doing," Daphne exasperatedly sighed, walking over to Tracey so that she could help.

"We're searching for a way to get Harold acquitted. We can't have him getting into even _more_ trouble without our help now, can we?" Tracey answered.

Daphne scoffed, "No… I guess we can't," she finished with a whisper, grabbing a book and putting it where Tracey indicated. She never even noticed the smiles that her friends gave her, relieved that she actually cared for Harold.

xxxXXXxxx

Sunday March 31, 1996

Two figures clashed blades for the eighth time that day, both panting from exhaustion.

Sweat poured into the younger figure's eye before he could wipe it off, and when the older one saw this, he capitalized on it and swept the younger figure's feet out from under him, causing him to land on his back with a sickening crack.

"Aw fuck Darius, I think you just broke the floor," Harold wheezed.

"Just be glad that it wasn't your spine," Darius retorted.

"Yeah, I guess I'm happy with that…" Harold corrected.

Harold slowly got up, mindful of his broken rib from the fall.

 _He really isn't holding back anymore… but how can I keep up with him?_

As if he sensed Harold's thoughts, Darius explained, "It's because you have much more potential than I did. I couldn't do _half_ the things that you can at your age. It took me _years_ to learn what you can in months. And when you're ready, I'll give you the elixir."

Harold's head snapped back to Darius, mouth open in shock, "But… you said that you'd _never_ give it to _anybody_. What changed your mind?"

Darius was silent for a long time, not even bothering to look in Harold's direction. Just when he thought that he wouldn't answer, Darius simply explained, "Because you're my son."

Tears welled up in Harold's eyes, and before he could fight it, a couple fell upon his face. "You've hardly ever… thank you," he whispered.

"Of course kid."

The two sat in silence for a while, taking in the repercussions of what Darius just said.

After it almost got uncomfortable, Darius asked Harold, "Can you walk? We need to get you fixed up for tomorrow. I want you to try 'The Shield' again."

Harold groaned, not wanting to do it but knowing that he _had to_ , before he nodded and limped off to his room to heal for the night.

 _We're almost there,_ Darius thought, relieved at his… son's progress, _Soon… very soon._

 **Author's Note:**

 **Sooooo that was crazy. Can you guys guess what Darius is talking about? I made it pretty obvious.**

 **I just got a review today from this guest named Jim who said: "Thank you for this amazing story…Loved it."**

 **No man, thank** _ **you**_ **. That made me feel absolutely fantastic, because I felt that I did my job as an author. If I can at least have 1 person love what I write, it will all be worth it. So thanks man.**

 **I should be finished with this in the next two chapters. And then I'm going to start this new fic that's been in my head for a long time now and is just waiting to get out. It's probably going to have to be made a crossover, as elements from one of the coolest fuckin games is going to be included, but I seriously hope that I can make it original enough for you guys.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading all! I am almost at 50 favorites! (My new goal, the 100 followers thing is kind of irrelevant now at the end of a story)**

 **I just got 50+ favorites! Yes! Thank you all so much! (:**


	11. Chapter 11: Those Vibes Man

Chapter 11:

Saturday April 13, 1996

 _Dear my 'Mary Jane',_

 _It's so good to finally talk to you again my love! Ever since you had gone away to the Scots, I've been seeing less and less of you over the breaks. I miss you. Tell your Aunt_ _ **Suze**_ _and Uncle_ _ **Nev**_ _and the cousins that I miss them too._

 _So my dad has been taking me around the country, trying to get my mind off of you, but it's not working. I just miss you so much!_

 _Also I picked up this new word while in America. It's called "_ _ **vibe**_ _." It's pretty much the same as "feeling" but I think its cooler! But I've been getting this weird_ _ **vibe**_ _lately. I just felt like I had to send you something, and so I called up your parents and they told me how to send this to you. I'm going to send you some good_ _ **vibes**_ _with this letter. Hope you like it. And don't worry about sendin' some good_ _ **vibes**_ _back._

 _I've got to go now, my father is dragging us to the "_ _ **Shack**_ _." You remember it? Great burger joint up in North London? Your Uncle_ _ **Nev**_ _and_ _ **you**_ _found it about_ _ **2 years**_ _back. I don't know why we are going to get a burger in the morning, but that's his idea I guess. I preferred it when it was_ _ **just**_ _ **you**_ _and_ _ **me**_ _though…_

 _Yours Forever,_

 _Peter_

Hermione set down the letter with shaky hands, tears of joy flowing freely down her face. _He's alive… he's alive and well and he sent a letter to me!_

The others at the Gryffindor table began to give her a strange look, while her friends looked at her for answers.

"My um… 'friend' 'Peter' just sent me a letter. It's been a long time since we talked last. He was never really able to contact me because he is a Muggle," the girl explained.

"Ohhhh," they all said in unison.

"Yeah. I think I'm going to stay inside for today guys, you can all go and have fun at Hogsmeade."

"Are you sure?" Susan asked, truly concerned for her friend, "Are you sure that you don't need any help or anything?"

"No I'm fine. Just going to lie down for a bit," she replied, giving Susan a guilty expression that the Hufflepuff caught, but couldn't explain.

However, as the girl walked away from them and out of the Hall, she made her way to the _library_ and not to her _dorm_.

 _What the hell is a vibe?_ she wondered.

xxxXXXxxx

 _Ohhhhhhh. So that's what a vibe is… And he wants to do this… with me? Should I tell the others? Or just Susan and Neville?_

Deciding to leave that decision for later, Hermione gathered up the books that she had borrowed and returned them to their proper place.

After walking to her dorm to keep up appearances, Hermione disillusioned herself and made her way to the Shrieking Shack, determined to not get caught by Umbridge and botch the whole thing.

Without her knowing it, a smile crept on the girl's face at the thought of seeing her long lost friend. _Don't worry Harold, I'm coming._

xxxXXXxxx

Harold sat waiting in the Shack, quite nervous at the thought of seeing Hermione again after being apart from her for 3 ½ months.

 _What am I nervous about? It's just Hermione,_ he reasoned.

 _But it's not_ just _Hermione, is it?_ another voice inside his head teased.

Rolling his eyes at having _those_ thoughts again, Harold made sure to double and triple check the wards that he had erected around the Shack, preventing anyone but Hermione from entering.

By the time it was midmorning, the door to the Shack opened, admitting a bushy haired teen with a flushed expression on her face.

As their gazes locked, everything stilled for a moment. It was almost as if he was using the 'Lightning Step,' but instead of being able to move, he found that he just _couldn't._

Suddenly, as if floodgates had opened, both of them rushed to each other and embraced, trying to show how much they missed one another with a simple, yet effective hug.

"I've missed you Mary Jane," Harold sighed.

Hermione chuckled at the nickname, liking this one much more than "'Mione." _But only Harold can call me this… no one else._

After a couple of moments, the two reluctantly pulled apart, with Harold conjuring a couch for the two to sit on.

Hermione noticed what he made instead of two chairs, but said nothing.

"So, tell me. What has happened since I've been away?" Harold started.

"Well, Umbridge has almost enough power to overthrow Dumbledore. But it doesn't seem like he's doing anything about it. The Slytherins are trying to pick fights with everyone, regardless of house. We're doing our best to protect Tracey and Daphne, and when we can't, they normally handle it, but…"

"But something happened recently?" Harold finished.

Hermione nodded her head, "It wasn't _too_ bad thankfully. Just a couple of broken bones. They're actually quite lucky. Those older years know some pretty dark curses."

"Dark curses aren't a problem, it's how you use them that is," Harold informed.

Hermione gave Harold a look that clearly showed that she really didn't believe him before continuing, "They were in the hospital wing for a day or two, and then they got released today. But now they're super pissed, and are cursing any Slytherin that comes within 10 feet of them."

Harold smiled, thinking about his two female Slytherin friends before nodding. _That sure sounds like them. Give 'em hell girls._

"You know, it's kind of a bit sad actually. Slytherin house has a lot of potential. If I had to choose a house, I'd have gone there. _If_ it wasn't filled with dumb arses though," Harold explained.

"Really? I would have thought you to be a Hufflepuff. You're extremely loyal to your friends and are one of the hardest workers that I know."

"Hmmm, maybe. I know for a fact that I wouldn't be some icky Gryffindor though," he joked.

"Oh shut up!" Hermione reprimanded playfully, swatting his arm before resting her head on his shoulder.

The two sat in silence for what seemed like hours, but was really only a few minutes.

"Harold?" Hermione whispered, trying to look him in the eye.

"Yes Hermione?" he whispered back, returning her gaze with his own.

"Why did you send the letter to me, and not Susan?" she asked, biting her lip unconsciously.

 _Damn she's cute when she does that…_

Harold cleared his throat before he answered, "I knew that you would get all of the clues before she did. Susan is great, but she isn't nearly as analytical as you. And today is the only day that I can risk being out here. Plus, it was easier to write to you. Susan and I don't have many secret code names like you and I do."

The Gryffindor girl nodded her head, accepting that as an answer… for now.

"I do miss her though…" he whispered.

"Do you want me to tell them about this?" Hermione asked, head down and looking away from the young man.

Harold was silent for a few moments, thinking about a mile a minute before responding, "Could you, please? I need to tell her something."

"Yeah… sure," she responded, still looking everywhere but at Harold.

The two sat in an uncomfortable silence now, neither knowing what to say to one another.

"Sooo you want to set this up now? It will be easier if we have eye contact," Harold asked.

"Might as well," she half-heartedly replied.

"Alright, just look into my eyes, and clear your mind. Open yourself to me," he instructed with a soothing voice that sent shivers down Hermione's spine.

They stared at one another for a long time before she nodded her head and waited for Harold's presence in her mind.

"Now, I'm going to leave a bigger presence than people normally do so that you can connect with Susan and give her the 'other half' so to speak. You might see some memories of mine, or have feelings that aren't yours for a while. That's just a side effect until you get used to it."

Hermione continued to stare at Harold, feeling a strange pressure in the back of her head that kept growing stronger and stronger, and just before it got to the point to where she couldn't take it, it stopped.

"Alright, now you better hurry and find Susan before it gets to be too much for you. Tell her it might be a bit rough 'cause I'm not doing it myself. Also, I'll try to give you.. updates every once in a while, is that okay?" Harold suggested.

"Okay…" Hermione whispered, and before she could help herself, gave Harold a kiss on the cheek and a quick hug before _fleeing_ the building, not looking back to see the young man's shocked but pleased face.

 _I'm_ so _going to hell for that._

xxxXXXxxx

Later that day, Hermione gathered all of her friends and led them to the Room, telling them that she had something _very_ important to explain to them.

 _Somehow,_ none of them got caught up by any of Umbridge's _Inquisitorial Squad._

Once in the Room, Hermione wrung her hands a bit before sitting down and whispering, "I spoke to Harold today."

Instantly, the Room was silent, everyone staring at the Gryffindor with wide eyes and open mouths.

Suddenly, everyone erupted with questions, yelling over one another to get their's answered.

"Is he okay?!"

"Why did he only meet you?"

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?!"

"How did he contact you?"

"Shut up!" Susan yelled, a look of pure annoyance on her face as she turned on her friends.

Everyone stopped talking after that.

"Hermione… is Harold okay?" Susan asked, eyes desperately conveying her need for a positive answer.

All Hermione could do was nod, not really trusting her voice at the moment.

Everyone let out a relieved sigh, happy with the thought that their friend was doing fine.

"What did he talk to you about?" Terry questioned.

"He said that he missed all of you. And he left a sort of… present for Susan with me," the girl informed.

Susan perked up at this, wondering what Harold could have possibly gotten her.

Hermione sighed, _This should be mine… not hers._

The two young women walked to a corner of the Room, as Hermione said that this should be private.

"Susan, do you know what a vibe is?" Hermione started.

"No… but I'm guessing that that is what Harold left me," she guessed.

Hermione nodded, "A vibe is form of telepathic communication. Sometimes it can go two ways, forming a link, while other times it's a simple one way thing where only the sender can speak, and the receiver just listens. That's what Harold gave me to give to you. A part of his magic is inside my head, and he wants you to have it."

Susan looked at Hermione in shock, not expecting _this_ at all.

"Okay… what am I supposed to do to 'receive' it?"

"All you have to do is open yourself to him, or at least the idea of him, and look into my eyes."

Susan did as she was told and began to feel a strange pressure in the back of her head.

After several seconds of the pressure growing, it stopped and settled inside of her mind.

"W-Wh-Whoa," she stammered, struggling a bit in order to stay on her feet.

"It's okay," Hermione said, holding onto Susan so that she wouldn't fall, "He said that this might be a bit rough because he isn't doing it himself."

Susan was quiet for a moment, which made Hermione believe that the other girl was just trying to catch her breath before she softly asked, "Why did he only want to meet you?"

Hermione stilled, not really knowing how to answer, as she did not want to believe Harold's reasoning herself. However, that didn't stop her from giving the Hufflepuff the same answer that Harold had given her, "He said that it would be easier. Basically, he suspected that Umbridge was checking the mail and sent me an encrypted message that he thought that only I would know how to solve."

Neither of the young women said anything, probably because of the tension that had been created from Susan's question.

Eventually, Hermione couldn't take it anymore and told the other girl, "He said that he wanted to say something to you, it must have been important… you should try the connection out soon."

Hermione then walked away, trying to give her friends as many details as possible on Harold's condition, while also trying to avoid looking Susan in the eye.

No one noticed this except for the Hufflepuff, who was wondering what was wrong with her friend, and more importantly, what did Harold wish to tell her?

xxxXXXxxx

Sunday April 14, 1996

 _Hey Susan… I know that things have been rough with the whole 'me getting arrested' thing, but I just want you to know how much I missed you. I have_ never _stopped thinking about you since the day they took me._

 _I want you to know that I still want to be with you. I don't know how we will make this work, or even if it_ can _work, but if you want the same… I'll be the happiest guy on Earth._

 _I'm planning to visit your manor over the summer. I know that it's risky but… I just_ need _to tell you something. And it absolutely_ has _to be in person, okay?_

 _So use that pretty little brain of yours to figure out a way so that we can meet up. I'll try to check in every so often to update you on what I'm doing and when the best time would be for us to meet. I'll talk to you later babe._

Susan began crying into her pillow, hoping that she knew what Harold wanted to tell her.

 _I love you too._

xxxXXXxxx

Wednesday May 15, 1996

 _Hey Hermione. I hope that you have been doing alright. I'm doing fine, just finished some training with Darius. It's supposed to be top secret, so when I finally show it to you, it'll look totally badass._

 _The reason that I am contacting you now is because I need any information that you can get the whereabouts of this locket. I'm sending you a mental image of it now._

 _A couple weeks back, Darius and I found this… place that Voldemort holds very dear. And inside of this place was this locket. Darius got hurt real bad, and I needed to look after him for a bit, but he is alright now._

 _The locket belonged to Salazar Slytherin, and we think Voldemort used it for some Dark Magic ritual. We could_ really _use your help in finding it, as the person who took the original and replaced it was Sirius' brother. He only put the initials on the note that he had left, but Darius found out somehow._

 _He has a lot of connections I suppose… although that might be because he's been around for so long._

 _Anyways, get into contact with Sirius, and ask him to find the locket. If you need to give him a reason, say that "His Old Drinking Buddy" wants it. Apparently, he and Sirius used to go to the same bar, and they became friends. It's a bit… weird to say the least. I think Darius was planning something, but I don't know what._

 _So, your mission is to find the locket, and put it in the Shack on the next Hogsmeade weekend. I believe in you Mary Jane. You can do this!_

 _P.S. I swear to_ God _if I come back and Neville and Hannah aren't dating, I'm going to Hogwarts and personally kicking his ass, damn the consequences!_

Hermione smiled at her friend's tone, wondering how he could stay so happy when he was separated from them _and_ being hunted down like an animal.

Deciding to get to work, she grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write:

Dear Snuffles…

xxxXXXxxx

Friday May 17, 1996

Sirius put down the letter, clearly shaken from its contents. _Where the hell has Darius been this whole time? And why does he want the locket?_

"Kreacher!" Sirius shouted.

Instantly, a loud CRACK was heard, signaling the arrival of the dreaded house elf.

"Yes, Master Black?" Kreacher asked, voice heavy with loathing and disdain.

"I need you to bring me a locket. One of my old friends thinks that it's here, and he needs it. It has a big 'S' on it in green stones with a long gold chain. Find it. Now."

"Master Regulus' locket?" the elf asked in shock, "What do you want with that?"

"I just told you, my friend wants it. Now get it for me this instant."

Kreacher left with a loud CRACK, only to return a few moments later, locket in hand and a scowl on his face.

"Good, now away with you, you fool creature!" Sirius shouted.

Kreacher gave Sirius one more disgusted look, and tried annoying the man once again by leaving with another loud noise.

 _Oh Regulus… what did you do?_

xxxXXXxxx

Tuesday June 18, 1996

Neville's hands were shaking as he put down the letter, hoping that what it said was just some sick joke, but knowing that it really wasn't.

 _If you don't come by 8pm, I will kill her, just like I did your parents._

The young man shivered in fear. Fear of this _monster_ and his request.

 _Am I really going to do this?_ Neville asked himself, _It_ has _to be a trap right? But what if it isn't and she dies?! I can't let that happen._

"Neville, are you okay?" Hannah asked, concerned for her new boyfriend's wellbeing.

Neville gave an exhausted sigh before he put the letter down on the table, allowing all of his friends to read it.

Everyone's faces instantly paled at the news, most of them knowing exactly what would happen if they went into the Department of Mysteries and grabbed the prophecy. They would end up dead.

"Neville," Hermione started slowly, "It could be a trap. We don't even know for certain if he has her."

"Well we can't know for certain, can we? Owl would take too long, and Umbridge has the only access to the Floo after she took over. I have to go on blind faith."

"But you'll die!" Hannah screeched, attracting the eyes and ears of the many people that sat around them.

"Look, we'll talk about this later, okay? Right now, I have to go and… prepare," the boy finished, getting up from the table and walking away.

"We have seriously got to find a way to help him," Hannah pleaded, not wanting to see her boyfriend die at the Dark Lord's hands.

"Don't worry Hannah, we will," Susan reassured, locking eyes with Hermione as they both nodded, thinking the same thing.

 _We need to tell Harold. Now._

xxxXXXxxx

Harold was currently sleeping in, after having dueled Darius for 5 hours straight, the young man decided that he just needed to rest.

Suddenly, a blast of freezing cold water hit him in the face.

"HOLY FUCK!" Harold yelled, using his 'Lightning Step' to get out of bed and tackle Darius.

The younger man punched the older one in the face before getting off and getting rid of the water with a flick of his wrist.

"Darius, I swear to god, if you do that to me again, I'm going to kill you!" Harold growled.

The older man was too busy laughing to even understand what Harold was saying, clutching his sides as if he was trying to keep himself together.

"Ugh you're ridiculous… why did you wake me up?" Harold asked, irritated beyond belief.

After a few moments, Darius had finally calmed down enough to answer, "Something is going down. My inside sources tell me that Voldemort is planning something. Tonight."

"Darius, how the hell do you get all of this information?" Harold questioned, still irritated at his father's irrational behavior.

"That's a secret," he replied, giving Harold a wink before getting up and brushing imaginary dirt off of himself.

"Now, why don't we go and get everything ready? We don't know when he'll attack, so we'll have to be prepared to run out even in the middle of the night. We got the locket and he'll more than likely have the snake on him. Are you ready to kill him?" Darius inquired.

All Harold gave Darius was a nod, but Darius knew what the boy was thinking, _This is going to be too easy._

xxxXXXxxx

Neville was scouring the castle, having a constant battle with himself over what he should do tonight.

 _I really shouldn't. I really_ really _shouldn't. But, do I have a choice?_

Neville was taken out of his thoughts by Professor McGonagall, who stopped him in the hall.

"Mr. Longbottom, are you okay? You seem a bit distressed," she commented.

Neville looked at McGonagall, trying to come up with a lie at first, but then he stopped himself. _Maybe she has some good advice._

 _"_ Yes Professor, I could use some advice," he answered.

"Well, what do you need help with today?"

"Its… _Voldemort_ ," he whispered, watching her as she barely flinched at the name, "I think that he's kidnapped my Gran! And he said that the only way to get her back would be to go to the Department of Mysteries and retrieve a prophecy."

The Professor was staring at him in shock, as she expected him to have silly problems like girls or wondering what he got on his O.W.L.'s. This, _this_ was too much, even for her.

"I'm going to notify the Order at once, and we'll lay in wait for the Death Eaters," she offered.

"That might work… but Voldemort himself is leading the 'transfer' between my Gran and the prophecy," Neville informed.

McGonagall was silent for a few moments, thinking about how the Order could possibly take down the most powerful Dark Lord in history.

"It seems that we will need to think on this some more," she replied, "Come, let us continue this discussion in my office."

The two walked back to the ground floor, neither wishing to bring up the very _real_ possibility of Neville dying today.

xxxXXXxxx

7pm

"So how the hell are we gunna get into contact with Harold?" Susan asked Hermione.

"I have no idea… but we need to find a way to try distracting Umbridge to use her Floo, or to try and look for a way through our link to him, otherwise, this isn't going to wor-" Hermione answered.

" _Our_ link? You… you have a vibe with him as well?" Susan stammered, as she was led to believe _by Hermione_ that Harold had wanted it to only be between the two of them.

Hermione winced at her tone, not noticing of her slip up. _Crap… how the hell do I explain this one?_

Susan was clearly waiting for an answer, but Hermione decided not to give her one. "We can talk about this later. Right now, we need to go to the library and find a way to do this, and quickly. Neville's life, and possibly his Gran's, is at stake."

That seemed to get Susan out of her funk, as the girl took charge and began to race with Hermione to the library.

However, as they got to the fork in the hallway that led to either the library or the Great Hall, Susan immediately stopped, almost causing Hermione to fall. "Wait, why don't we just ask the Room for a Floo? Or a way to contact Harold?"

Hermione stilled. "Oh my god how could we have been so _stupid?"_

The two changed directions and ran to the Room, not noticing the time of day outside of the castle, as they both had serious tunnel-vision.

If only they had cared to stop by the library, they would have noticed the clock strike 7:30pm.

If only they had gone to the Great Hall first, then they would have seen Neville, Terry, Anthony and Hannah, brooms in hand, all leaving the castle on their own to foolishly try and rescue Neville's Gran.

If only.

xxxXXXxxx

8:10pm

 _Harold! Harold! Can you hear us?_ Hermione's voice shouted in the boy's head.

 _Holy shit…. I'm going crazy,_ Harold thought.

 _No, you're not. But we need your help, Neville…_

xxxXXXxxx

 _-nd now he's going with the rest of them! Susan just checked!_ Hermione finished.

 _OH MY FUCKING GOD NEVILLE, YOU IDIOT!_ Harold bellowed, true rage burning inside of him at the idea of his friend's stupidity and what it would cost everyone.

Hermione gasped in shock, as she was overloaded with Harold's emotions. The young man instantly calmed down, not wanting to hurt his friend in the slightest.

 _I'm going to go and help him. Stay where you are! There's no need to get even more people into trouble._

 _Okay,_ Hermione reassured, but was already making plans to go with Susan anyways. These were her friends! She had to help them.

 _Don't worry, I'll get the home, safe and sound,_ Harold proclaimed, before telling Darius everything and leaving in an instant with the man.

 _Neville, I hope to fuckin' God that you aren't dead…_ Harold morbidly thought, before he landed without so much as a pop in front of the guest entrance to the Ministry.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Dun Dun DUUUUUUUNNN!**

 **Yeah this chapter was really hard to write… I think my work reflects that a bit.**

 **So, I just realized that this thing definitely needs a rewrite, and that will probably happen over winter break. If I have time.**

 **I've started thinking harder on the next fic that I want to do. It definitely isn't the sequel to this. That will probably come after my next fic, but before the rewrite.**

 **The concept of my next fic is basically, What if Darius had taken Harold to America in order to escape all of the bullshit that goes down in the UK? What if Voldemort still won, as his organization took over the ministry even after his death? What if Harold had different abilities (Wings. Fuckin wings would be the coolest shit ever) along with his sword wielding capabilities? I basically want Harold to be like, the superhero of a city, before the Death Eaters start to expand and go to America. Obviously, Hermione has to be in it too. So it might even be a H/Hr story. I seriously have no idea what I am going to do (x**

 **Some feedback on this idea though would be brilliant. And I might literally do all of the chapters at once, or at least most of them. That way, I'm not constantly doing a chapter EVERY FUCKIN DAY. Jeeze I made a monster here.**

 **So, just to rehash this thing, I am not beta-ed…. Beta'd? I still don't know. I don't have a beta reader. And I do a chapter a day. No excuses, but just thought that I'd put that out there.**

 **Next and Last chapter: Death.**


	12. Chapter 12: Death

**Author's Note:**

 **So, I came up with this story like, a day before I wrote the first chapter. I feel like I kind of rushed into it, maybe threw some ex-machina in there as well. Hence, a rewrite. It will carry the same plot, but have more filler days to see how their relationships progressed. Especially the whole Harold/Susan Harold/Hermione thing. That last chapter needed a bit more background on why Hermione kissed Harold. But oh well, you'll all get it eventually.**

 **Onto the story! AN at end.**

Chapter 12: Death

Tuesday June 18, 1996

As Neville and his three friends arrived at the Ministry, they found the street to be deathly quiet. The group was instantly on guard, slinking forward slowly and ready to fire a spell at anything, even though they were going against the most powerful Dark Lord in history.

Gathering into the small telephone booth that magically expanded to fit them, Neville quickly dialed 62442 and waited until a female voice rang out, "Visitor to the Ministry of Magic, what is your purpose for today's visit?"

"Neville Longbottom, Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot, and Hannah Abbott here to kick the Dark Lord's arse!" Anthony sarcastically crowed.

Everyone turned to Anthony in shock before four badges were spit out that read: VISITOR: HERE TO KICK THE DARK LORD'S ARSE.

Hannah gave Anthony a frown before he quickly answered, "What? It was for comedic relief?"

The group was silent once again as it traversed through the huge Atrium. Somehow, there weren't any people in the building.

"This, is looking even more like a trap," Terry whispered.

"I know… I'm sorry guys. You can go back if you want. It doesn't have to be this way," Neville replied, hanging his head in defeat.

"We're not going to leave you!" Hannah exclaimed, eyes filled with determination to be there for her boyfriend.

Neville sighed, but continued walking anyway, knowing that once Hannah made up her mind, it was best for you to just go along with it. _She's lucky she's cute,_ he half-heartedly joked.

The group made their way into the elevator, pressing level 9 for the Department of Mysteries. Each of them knew that any time wasted would be detrimental to themselves, and Neville's Gran. As soon as they reached the correct floor, everyone flew out of the elevator and ran for the door at the end of the hallway.

Remarkably, the door was unlocked.

As was the next one.

And the next one.

And the next one.

In fact, every single door that they came across was unlocked and led to another one in this long and narrow hallway.

"Do you think it was originally planned to be like this, or that the Dark Lord did something to it?" Neville asked, leaning against the wall to catch his breath.

"I would think the latter is more plausible," Terry answered, also leaning, but looking less winded than Neville.

"No use standing about here, time to try the next one," Anthony encouraged, reaching out to grab the handle of the next door, only for it to shock him violently and throw him to the ground, foam seeping out of his mouth. The boy screeched in agony and his body shook with spasms as he was slowly being electrocuted.

"Anthony!" everyone else shouted, drawing their wands and trying to levitate the boy away from the handle to no avail. No matter what they did, the boy could just not be released.

Hannah started crying as she saw blood spill from Anthony's eyes and ears, and just as suddenly as it had happened; it stopped. Everything was silent, and Anthony Goldstein was dead.

xxxXXXxxx

Harold and Darius slowly entered the Ministry, not wanting to get caught unawares by some stupid Death Eater or the old Dark Poofter himself.

"Damn, he got the whole Ministry out for a day. Not bad considering," Darius commented, not truly phased in the slightest.

" _Not bad?_ " Harold reiterated, angered beyond belief, "Darius, this is horrible. My friends are down there, probably dead, and you're saying that this isn't bad?"

"I'm just saying, it can always be worse."

If Harold was a normal person, he would have asked 'How could it get any worse,' but he had read enough stories to know how _that_ question gets answered.

xxxXXXxxx

"We need a Floo so that we can get to the Ministry!" Hermione needlessly shouted as she paced three times in front of the entrance to the Room.

While Hermione did her pacing, Susan gave the wall a grim look before conjuring a piece of parchment and quill, writing down three words and putting the parchment in her pocket before entering the room with the Gryffindor.

Surprisingly, the Room accepted their request and a door formed, leading Hermione and Susan into a room empty of anything except for a fireplace that was big enough for the both of them.

"Ministry of Magic!" the two cried as they quickly threw in the Floo Powder and were whisked off to their destination.

xxxXXXxxx

Suddenly, as Harold and Darius were almost at the elevator, one of the fireplaces for the Floo Network flashed green and dumped out two very familiar girls.

Harold smacked his forehead, groaning as he thought, _I should have fucking known!_

"Why do you both pull this rebellious streak now?!"

xxxXXXxxx

Neville and Terry were trying, and failing, to console a crying Hannah. After seeing Anthony's horrific death, she didn't know if she had the stomach to go on any longer.

"Shhhh, shhhhh I've got you Hannah. I've got you," Neville repeated, holding onto his girlfriend like a drowning man would a life preserver. Tears threatened to fall down his face as he thought about his lost friend, _Anthony… why? Why him? It had been me leading. It should have been me…_

"Neville, I can't do this. I can't. Let's just go back. Please Neville. Let's just go home," she cried.

"I can't love," Neville foolishly replied, both saddened by his friend's death _and_ letting his Gryffindor courage rage with thoughts of revenge on his mind.

"Someone has to make Voldemort pay."

"It doesn't _have_ to be you Neville… we're already late…" Terry softly informed.

"It has to be me… I did it before, and I'll do it again," he confidently replied.

The only thing that could be heard in the hallway were Hannah's soft sobs.

"Terry, take Hannah back. Take her back to Hogwarts," Neville whispered.

Hannah instantly gave shouts of protest, not willing to leave her boyfriend behind, but was silenced when Terry's whispered, " _Stupefy."_

"You had better be careful Neville. Do it… do it for Anthony," Terry encouraged.

"I will," he replied with more confidence in his voice than he actually had.

Terry nodded once and levitated Hannah with him as he made his way back to the Atrium. As soon as the boy took ten feet away from Neville, a 'spell mine' exploded, instantly killing both him and Hannah.

"Terry! Hannah!" Neville cried in shock, not believing what he was seeing.

Somehow, the walls and ceiling around the explosion absorbed the magical impact, suggesting that it was a specifically laid trap for the group.

Neville's scream in agony could be heard all throughout the Ministry.

xxxXXXxxx

Harold was busy yelling at a sheepish looking Susan and Hermione when he suddenly heard a small explosion coming from the elevators. After a few seconds, a wail of agony reached the dup's ears.

Harold's gaze instantly locked with Darius' as the older man gave him a grim frown.

The two girls noticed this, as Hermione asked, "What? What just happened?"

Harold gave her a weary sigh in reply before running with Darius to the elevator, not even registering the girls' shouts of protest.

The two quickly reached an elevator and slammed the button for level 9, trying to make the thing go faster by shouting at it to "Fuckin' go faster!"

Hermione and Susan could only run fast enough to see the dark expression on Darius' face and the determined one on Harold's.

"Oh this _cannot_ be good," Susan whispered.

Remembering the last time that Susan said that, Harold got arrested, the two quickly entered their own elevator and made their way after Harold, hoping that whatever happened, their friends were still alive.

xxxXXXxxx

Neville sat on the ground, mind slowly processing the idea that he had led his friends to their deaths. _What… what have I done? What have I done? No… No… No…_

The boy curled up into a ball, not even bothering to protect himself or think of his Gran any longer. All he could do was feel an incredible sadness that sat like a weight on his heart. _I guess I am drowning,_ he thought, before the Gryffindor passed out from the shock of losing everyone he had loved.

xxxXXXxxx

Harold and Darius ran through the hall, blasting open each door and pushed their 'Lightning Step' as hard as they could.

What they found sent Harold into a primal rage.

Anthony Goldstein lied on the cold marble floor, face contorted into a mask of agony as dried blood extended from his eyes and ears.

Harold punched the wall in frustration, cracking it and breaking most of the bones in his hand.

"Fuck!" he screamed.

Darius absently healed Harold's hand with a flick of the wrist before he changed Anthony's expression to that of a peaceful one. The man then removed all of the dried blood in an effort to make the boy look more presentable, _I stand corrected… this is really, really bad…_

"I'm going to go ahead… see if… see if anyone else is dead," Darius told Harold before rushing forward and out of sight.

It took the man less than a minute before he came back, darkness clouding his face.

"Who else?" Harold whispered hoarsely.

"A girl and a boy. Neville wasn't with them… Their bodies… their bodies were mangled… it looks like it was a 'spell mine.' Voldemort must have somehow set a trap for them. I don't know how Neville got out of it…" Darius nervously explained.

Harold was silent, which only made Darius even more nervous, as he had been known to throw away his teachings in an act of revenge. _He_ did _kill those two boys… And I don't care what he says, it_ wasn't _self-defense._

Suddenly, the two heard footsteps, signaling the approach of Susan and Hermione.

"I'll go and get the other two. You handle them," Harold whispered, vanishing into thin air as the boy used his 'Lightning Step' to get to them.

As soon as the girls reached him, Darius carefully explained what had happened, knowing that no matter what he said, the two girls would still be broken at the loss of their friends.

xxxXXXxxx

Harold reached Terry and Hannah faster than Darius had; silent tears flowed freely down his face as he whispered, "I am so sorry."

Deciding that the two girls did not deserve to see their friends like this, he reattached as many body parts as he could find.

Terry was still missing a foot, while Hannah was missing an arm.

A cold mask slid over Harold's face as the young man levitated the two bodies and began the trek back to his father. He knew that he would have to deal with a crying Susan and Hermione when he got there.

xxxXXXxxx

The young man was met with a strangled sob as two missiles shot at him and clung to him from both sides, holding him tightly.

"I know… I know," he whispered, "Look. Darius will take them up to the Atrium and will call for Sirius and the Order. I trust McGonagall to make sure that their bodies are safe. I already know that you two are coming with me. We have to save Neville."

The only confirmation that Harold got from the girls were two nods with more tears staining his shirt. Darius simply began to levitate the three bodies and disappeared.

The group then began to quickly make their way down the impossibly long hallway, with the only sound that Harold could hear being the crying of Hermione and Susan.

xxxXXXxxx

Neville was still curled up in his ball, shivering slightly at the touch of the cold floor as he woke up.

He heard a hissing noise in the distance, but he didn't care. All he could think of was his dead friends, and how it was entirely his fault.

 _I'm so sorry…_ he thought for the nth time as the hissing grew louder.

A giant green snake began to slowly appear in the boy's vision, giving off the same hissing sound that he had just heard.

 _If this is how I'm going to die, then let it happen already._

The snake sprang up and lunged, threatening to inject Neville with its deadly venom and end the boy's torment.

A slash of a blade could be heard as Neville's would-be killer was simply beheaded. Neville's gaze drifted up the blade that had saved his life and found the owner to have almost entirely silver eyes, with a small fleck of emerald green within them. Fearsome power radiated from the being, causing Neville to be both comforted and scared in its presence.

The figure suddenly crouched down and grabbed the boy's shoulder, shaking him slightly before encouraging, "Neville. Get up. We have a Dark Lord to kill."

xxxXXXxxx

Said Dark Lord was listening to the whole exchange with an enraged scowl on his face, "The brat is here… but he killed Nagini… Now I shall make him truly suffer."

xxxXXXxxx

The four friends walked silently through the hallway, as nobody wanted to speak again for fear of breaking down once more.

Both girls' faces were masked with grim determination, wanting to tear Voldemort piece by piece for what he did to their friends.

Neville was walking alongside Harold, looking down instead of ahead.

Harold was watching every single nook and cranny that they passed by, waiting for any traps to spring.

The group finally came upon a door that looked different from the rest, probably marking the end of their journey.

Harold checked the door for any traps, and when he found none, slammed it open with a wandless and silent _Bombarda Maxima._

xxxXXXxxx

The door exploded inwards, sending pieces of wood everywhere. Four teenagers quickly made their way into the room, two already had their wands out, another didn't bother drawing his, while the last simply didn't have one.

Voldemort stood in the center of the room wand out of sight as he bowed low to Harold.

"Welcome my friend," the Dark Lord drawled with a smirk, "It was most entertaining to se-"

Harold instantly disappeared with his 'Lightning Step,' wanting to just end Voldemort quickly and leave this wretched place to go and mourn his friends, but was stopped in his tracks right as he was about to behead Voldemort.

"Now now Harold, that just won't do," Voldemort criticized, a smug smile decorated his face as the trap that he had used worked to perfection, "We have _so much_ to do."

For the first time in Harold's life, he felt fear. Not fear for himself, but fear for his friends.

Voldemort seemed to notice this as he turned to Susan and gleefully repeated, " _So much to do."_

xxxXXXxxx

Darius had just reached the Atrium after carefully levitating Harold's friends for a few minutes through the hallway, when 6 wands were suddenly pointed in his direction.

Minerva gasped as she saw her dead students around a strange man, and instantly assuming the worst; she foolishly fired the first spell.

The spell harmlessly fell off of an invisible shield that surrounded the bodies as Darius roared in pent up frustration, "Foolish imbeciles! These children were killed by the Dark Lord, ON YOUR WATCH!"

Everyone instantly lowered their wands as the strange man set the children's bodies carefully on the ground.

"Who are you? And where is Mr. Longbottom? And where is Voldemort?" Dumbledore asked, thinking that the younger looking man would cow and instantly tell him everything.

"None of your business, with Harold, with Harold," Darius expertly replied, before making his way back to the elevator, "Now I expect you to keep these children safe. I'm going back to watch that bastard die."

"Now wait just a minute young man!" Dumbledore exclaimed.

"Young man?" Darius crowed with false humor, "You know nothing you decrepit-looking sack of shit! Now shut the hell up and do something useful for once in your life!"

Darius then turned away from the shocked crowd and stepped into the elevator, trying to quickly make his way to his son in order to make sure that he lost control.

 _We do not need_ that _right now kid. Just kill him and be done with it…_

xxxXXXxxx

"You know, it was quite easy to kill your friends," Voldemort mocked, "I actually thought that they'd be smart enough to stay away, but I guess children will always be children."

Harold was still bound by Voldemort's unknown spell, but he still managed to snarl at the man in response.

The Dark lord laughed at this before turning to Harold's other friends.

"I am going to enjoy killing you… and I am going to enjoy making him watch even more. Then, when I'm done with him, I'll be the most powerful being alive! No one would be able to stop me," Voldemort cackled with glee.

Susan and Hermione were standing side by side, wands pointed at their enemy with determination, but hands shaking in fear.

Neville just stood off to the side, still broken and seemingly beyond repair.

"I do wonder though, who you really are. It has been on my mind constantly for the past couple of months. And I still can't find any information about you besides your name. Even that is a bit… skeptical. Do they know?" Voldemort casually asked as he flicked his wand and summoned Susan to him.

"Don't you dare touch her! I'll kill you god dammit!" Harold yelled, eyes that were filled with rage and determination softly glowed silver.

"Big talk from a little man," Voldemort shot back, turning to Susan with wand in hand and gave Harold a mad grin before shouting, " _Crucio!"_

Susan was instantly on the ground, writhing in pain.

"Susan!" Harold yelled, trying desperately to get out of his bonds.

Hermione tried firing a spell at Voldemort, but was instantly pushed through the air with a flick of Voldemort's wand.

The distraction broke the spell, but the Dark Lord just screamed, " _Crucio!"_ again.

Harold was yelling every obscenity that he knew at Voldemort, while the man just laughed.

"I think it's time to move onto the next one," he drawled, " _Avada Kedavra!"_

"No!" a voice radiating power roared.

Two flashes lit up the room at once, blinding everyone but Harold and Voldemort. One was a sickly green while the other a luminescent silver.

When the flashes died down, all one could see was Harold holding on to a lifeless Susan and Voldemort lying beheaded on the ground. Luminescent silver met a dull brown.

Harold's scream of agony at the loss of his love reverberated off of the walls and reached Darius' ears, who was still running through the hallway.

 _Oh no…_

xxxXXXxxx

Hermione watched Harold with a sorrow in her heart that she had never known before. _It wasn't supposed to be this way…_

xxxXXXxxx

Harold clung onto Susan tightly, not wanting to let this extraordinary woman go. The boy felt a piece of parchment in her pocket, and wondering why she had kept such a thing on her, took it out and opened it.

What he saw were three words that he had always wanted to say to her.

 _I love you._

The End.

Yeup. Seriously. Now go read that Author's Note.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Yeah, it ends like that. Lemme give you my reasoning.**

 **Although I love big battle scenes, it didn't feel right to have one in this instance.**

 **The moment I made Harold meet all of those friends, I was immediately compelled to kill them off.**

 **Susan was always going to die, but the rest were a bit iffy actually. I decided that all Harold will have left are a broken Neville, a saddened Hermione (great for their future romance?) and two Slytherins.**

 **Now, before you kill me, I had originally planned for Neville to kill Susan while under the Imperius. Would you have wanted that?! Huh?!**

 **So I just got convinced to do the rewrite before the sequel. But I'm still doing my new story first. One person said that he would look like an Avenging Angel, and honestly, that is what I was going for. Until, you know. Everything goes to hell. When I came up with the idea for it, I instantly thought of like a DC or Marvel comic. Harold has a secret identity, everyone is trying to figure out who he is. Stuff like that. The high school experience will be fun, as I'm an anti-social kind of guy. But I am still in high school, so I DO have a general idea. Maybe Harold will be like me? Who knows.**

 **For those of you wondering: "What the heck was Darius talking about?" I gave hints about the fact that it wasn't self-defense in that whole confrontation with Ginny. That time, he never answered her, he only gave her a look.**

 **So some foreshadowing that I did if you missed it,**

 **Splash of cold water to Harold's face**

" **Deathly quiet"**

 **Susan's grim look**

 **Every time that Harold does something, it's always at the right time. He was always fast enough. Not this time though ):**

 **And last but not least: The fuckin' title!**

 **The reason I'm doing a rewrite? This is my first fanfic. Ever. And there are a LOT of mistakes. I'm not that vain to think that there aren't.**

 **Thank you all for reading, and expect that story to be posted in about a month. It will probably be twice as long as this. Goodbye for now!**


	13. New Story Alert: Black Frost

Hey guys, it's Soko and I am just soooo tired of my Fallen Angel story, so I'm deleting that and putting it on hold for a new one, 'Black Frost.'

This one is going to be longer than 'Strikes' and include a Slytherin, Elemental, and very strong Harry, with a misguided Dumbledore that will still be good, and Snape and McGonagall are kind of going to switch places. Snape won't be a total dick pretty much, while Minerva will be pissed about not having Harry as a lion. There will be Ron bashing, maybe some more Weasley bashing, and Malfoy will be... something. I haven't gotten there yet. He will start as canon though, that is for sure.

I've created a script for my story this time, so it should be much easier to write (but yall don't care anyways, as long as you get the goods) and I am almost done with first year. I was thinking of doing the script for a school year, then the actual chapters for it, so after i finish the script today, you should expect chapters for this new story next week.

I'll give the intro in the next chapter in this story probably tomorrow or Sunday and then I'll start the actual new story next week. This is so all of the people who liked 'Strikes' but couldn't follow or whatever because of reasons can check it out here, and then go to my profile and check it out there. Thank you all for supporting me, and have a great day (:


	14. Black Frost: Chapter 1

Black Frost: Chapter 1

The Beginning of the Beginning

Spring, 1986

Darkness.

That's all the boy really knew.

What he wouldn't give for some light.

Light was pure and kind and loving.

Light would save him, he was sure of it.

Be careful what you wish for.

The cupboard door that was the boy's barrier to that fantastic light finally opened, revealing a whale of a man with a stern expression on his face.

"Now I don't want any more funny business from you boy. You got that?!" the portly man yelled.

All the poor boy could do was nod his head, as he had been starved for five days, only given water at night by his Aunt as she did not want him to die in their house.

Most people would think that she was trying to help, but she only did it for herself, as it would be improper for her to have a dead child in her home.

When the man got the confirmation that he needed, he shoved a packet of parchment into the boy's face, waving it in front of him to gain his attention, although it had never been lost in the first place.

"This is a list of your chores around the house, and if you don't complete these before the weekend is up, you'll be in there for a week, ya hear?!"

Again, the boy could only nod, before he mechanically began to get up in order to start a list of chores as long as he was tall.

 _Good for nothing brat,_ the older man growled as he walked away to go to work, fantasies of beating his fellow employees for the number of sold drills for the month.

A shadow of a boy, no older than five, crawled out of a cupboard under the stairs to begin his duties, already trained and conditioned to follow orders or suffer the consequences.

Before he started his work, he ate the food that the Dursley's left out for him, a simple slice of bread and a glass of water. After inhaling the meager amount of food, he went outside to start the day.

His first duty was to pull the weeds in the garden by hand because the Dursley's apparently did not trust him enough to handle any tool to ease the burden of his task.

Getting on his hands and knees, the young boy droned through his work, trying not to think about the fact that this treatment was torture, or the reasoning behind the torture in the first place.

He tried not to think about the reason for why his own family did not love him as he scrubbed the already spotless stove once again.

He tried not to think about the beatings that he would get at night from a drunken Vernon as he organized the already perfect living room.

He tried not to think about that night when Vernon got really drunk and…

Almost as if a dam had burst, tears began to fall from the young boy's eyes, soaking the ground as he painted the already clean white fence white again.

 _Why do they do this to me? Why?_

xxxXXXxxx

Late April, 1986

 _Why? Why does he do this to me?_

The young boy once again found himself running for his life and away from his over-weight cousin and his pack of goons as they chased him throughout the schoolyard. They were currently playing "Harry Hunting," a game that they came up with where they would chase Harry around, and once they caught him, beat him up and insult him.

Needless to say, Harry _hated_ "Harry Hunting."

 _I have to hide, I have to hide, I have to hide,_ he repeated, looking around frantically for an escape from this hell.

Turning around the corner of the large school building, the boy suddenly felt a surge of power inside of him before feeling as if he were being squeezed through a small tube. After a moment of the uncomfortable sensation, and a loud ' _CRACK!,'_ Harry found himself sitting on top of the school roof, many yards away from his demented cousin and his friends.

"No. Freaking. Way," he gasped aloud, fearful for a moment that he was going crazy.

 _I am in_ so _much trouble._

xxxXXXxxx

The Day After, 1986

After his debacle the day before, Harry went straight to the one place that he could call his refuge; the library.

Scanning through all of the numerous books in the familiar building, he finally stumbled upon the one that he had been searching for: ' _Teleportation: Is it Possible?'_ by Peter Wayne.

Flipping through the book, he found a list of theories, some dating as far back as the time of the Egyptians. For once in Harry's life, the dull and robotic look that normally accompanied his face was gone, replacing it with a vibrant smile and a merry gleam in his eyes.

 _This is it,_ he thought, _This is my ticket out of here. With some practice and a couple of years, I'll be out of this hell hole._

xxxXXXxxx

And so, the boy spent weeks practicing, trying desperately to recreate the circumstances that allowed him to teleport before, but to no avail.

Harry intentionally put himself by Dudley's gang, hoping for them to chase him again, and they did. But it still didn't work.

Dudley still found him and beat him, and he was no closer to achieving his goal.

After trying for the billionth time, the boy let out an irritated sigh, falling to the ground in exhaustion.

 _Why?_

Tears began to stain the ground as Harry wept once again for his cursed life.

 _Am I ever going to get a break?_ he asked himself, before looking up to see Dudley and his gang grinning at him from a couple meters away.

Harry sighed again and picked himself up; giving the boys a hate filled glare that seemed to scare the more weak willed ones. _I guess not._

Without warning, he turned and ran away from the other children, determined not to get caught by them. Anger and hate filled up within him, and when the boy finally turned around the exact same corner that he had before, he once again felt the uncomfortable squeezing and heard the loud ' _CRACK!'_ before being deposited across the street and landing in some bushes.

Panting, and feeling extremely exhausted, Harry's body sagged to the ground as he was unable to move on. Even so, he still found that he could smile, for he had finally, finally done it.

 _I guess now I know what fuels it… Emotion._

xxxXXXxxx

After practicing for months on end and at any time that he could away from prying eyes, Harry had finally managed to learn how to travel short distances on a whim, with the only thing announcing his arrival being a soft ' _POP!'_ instead of a loud cracking noise.

Although he knew that he would not be able to get any more silent at this stage, it still infuriated him to no end.

However, he was still content with his new ability because he could freaking teleport! How cool was that?!

Now, every time that the rotten Dursleys locked him in that foul cupboard, he just popped away at night to enjoy the fresh air and the feeling of freedom.

With the combination of Vernon and Dudley's snores, he was certain that no one could hear him exit and enter back into the house, but in order to be safe, he only did this at around 4:00 am so that he could be even more certain that he wouldn't be detected.

One night during winter break, the young boy decided to see if he could push his powers even further and go a larger distance. Sitting cross-legged on his poor excuse for a mattress, Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on the one place that he would always want to go to, his sanctuary.

Peeking his eyes open, he found that he was still in his room, but also saw that his toy soldiers that he always played with began to magically float.

 _Huh… I think I'll store that one for later._

Closing his eyes again, he tried his old method when he was first starting out, focusing on all of the anger and hate that he felt for the Dursleys and this cruel world, and how the only place that would save him would be his sanctuary.

What he found this time however, would be another one.

Instead of teleporting to the library, or even going halfway, the young boy found himself in another place entirely.

Snow and ice as far as the eye could see surrounded him, and it seemed as if it would consume him except for one thing.

This was his ice. His snow.

This was his soul.

Somehow, the boy knew this, but could not think of a single reason as to why this would be.

Deciding to explore a bit, he chose a direction at random, thinking that it would lead him to something, when another something impeded his progress.

Where there had once been vast amounts of snow and ice, there was now a giant sphere blocking his view that could only be described as pure evil.

The giant ball of nothingness was inky black and smelled of disease and death.

As soon as the smell assaulted the boy's nose, he quickly covered it and turned away in disgust.

 _THAT'S in my soul?!_ he thought, outraged that something as vile as that would take refuge in his heart.

 _I will find a way to get you out, mark my words,_ he declared, glaring at the abomination before him.

Filled with resolve, blue energy began to surround Harry, until suddenly, he felt a very familiar tug, and landed flat on his face inside of his other sanctuary.

"Damn," he croaked aloud, feeling just like he had when he first learned to teleport as he rolled over onto his back.

Dragging himself off the floor, Harry surveyed his surroundings, making sure that he didn't accidently alert anybody.

 _Wait… is the librarian even here at this time?_

Shaking his head at his foolishness, he spun on his heel and made short trips back to the Dursley's house, not even willing to call that _place_ a home.

Dropping down onto his makeshift bed, the young boy panted in exhaustion from the multitude of trips that he made in one setting.

 _I've_ got _to do that more often if I want to get stronger,_ he chided himself, before falling asleep to the image of him leaving his rotten relatives for good.

xxxXXXxxx

Over the course of the next year Harry Potter, now seven, split his time between learning how to teleport longer distances and learning how to develop his new power; telekinesis.

By January, he was able to finally levitate an object again, but that object was a feather from his pillow, an even that was a struggle for him.

 _This is a lot harder than I thought it would be…_

By February, he was able to lift up his toy soldiers again. In order to practice this, he would levitate his soldiers and have them fight one another, which would have kept him entertained for hours if it wasn't for the Dursleys and their stupid chores.

 _I will_ never _let what happened_ that day _happen again._ Never.

By March, he could easily lift both feathers and toy soldiers at the exact same time, not even really having to think about it, except when he was using more than three of both.

 _I wonder if I could make these things come alive…_

Once December rolled around, Harry, now eight, had moved on up to his feather-filled pillow and sheet, being able to lift both at the same time and make them move around his cramped cupboard.

One day during winter break, Dudley had tried to sabotage Harry when he was making eggs, as he had not been able to pick on him at school any longer. Each time that he tried, Harry would always disappear.

As the whale of a boy walked by the stove, he "accidently" crashed into Harry, making the boy lose his grip on the pan and have it fall to the ground.

Thinking quickly, Harry barely slowed it's descent with his telekinesis and caught it midair, surprising Dudley and his Aunt and Uncle, who were watching the whole thing with crude smiles.

"What was that freakishness boy?!" Vernon roared, already getting up and preparing to whip him until he screamed for mercy.

"I just have good reflexes," the scrawny boy mumbled, already setting the eggs on the breakfast plates to serve to his horrid relatives.

Vernon stared at the boy, and Harry found himself staring right back. This lasted for several tense seconds before Vernon felt a weird pressure in the back of his head, while Harry began to hear a loud shouting voice that resembled Vernon's but sounded sickly and, dare he say it, even more horrible.

 _Good for nothing nasty little brat! I should kill him… I should…_

Harry quickly looked away, not willing to know what his slob of an uncle thought of him.

The strange pressure went away from Vernon's head, and he was about to spout off some more nonsense when, as luck would have it, the mail carrier had come to deliver a package. Vernon began to put the "idiotic boy and his antics" out of his mind, focusing on the toy that he had bought for himself. A disgusting smile appeared on the man's face as he walked out of the kitchen, while Petunia sat there giving Harry a calculated look, or at least, as calculated a look as the abnormally skinny hag could muster.

Deciding that his presence was no longer needed, the young boy left the kitchen and went back into his cupboard.

 _I hope that these people rot in Hell… And what the hell was that?! I can read minds too?_

Giddy with excitement, the boy quickly began to work out a plan for how he would develop this new skill.

 _I'll have to use it on the kids at school. I don't exactly want to know what these idiots think of me. Yes, that'll work._

Chuckling a bit at himself, Harry sank back down into his bed, levitating his sheet over himself with a flick of his wrist.

Thoughts of gaining more power to escape his torment stayed with him the entire day.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Sooooo how'd you like it? Good? Bad? Not enough info for an impression?**

 **That's all cool.**

 **I created this so because the idea would literally not get out of my head. I kind of hit a slump with Fallen Angel, and just was not motivated to write it, so that is why you're getting this because I actually feel motivated to write this.**

 **I mean, the fact that I said that I would write this on Friday or Sunday, and then writing it on Thursday is proof enough.**

 **Updates for this might be a bit slower, so once or twice a week with about 2,000+ words per chapter. This is so that I don't kill myself over this like I did last time.**

 **I hope to make this story just as great as 'Strikes' if not better, so call me out if I'm not doing a good job.**

 **Reviews are very welcome, Follows duly appreciated, and Favorites expected (just kidding)**

 **Have a great day guys! And thanks for reading. Any questions just ask. I'll answer. I might even give the plot away if you want.**

 **Holy shit, lucky you guys. I had time to revise, so you get this today! Luckkyyy**


End file.
